Island of Fairies
by Goldenbrook15
Summary: Kirito honestly never saw this coming. What were the chances of getting trapped inside of a VRMMO game twice?
1. Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, or any variation of it.**

 **Just so you know, this is not a declaration that I am coming back to Fanfiction. I might never update my in progress stories again, however just because I stopped posting doesn't mean that I stopped writing. I have hundreds of incomplete stories that I am going to start posting, from a lot of different fandoms. They will probably only be a chapter or two each, none complete. I figured that I shouldn't let even an incomplete story sit and rot without anyone but me to enjoy it. So, in the next few weeks I will be randomly creating and posting the stories that I have written. If you have requests from by list of story ideas on my profile please let me know. I will post the chapter I have written for it, if there is one. Any story I post from here on out will be incomplete, and anyone can take the idea and adopt it so long as they write their own beginning instead of just taking the one that I post, unless they get specific permission from me and are able to show that they already have at least two extra chapters written before they are allowed to adopt.**

 **Again: I AM NOT RETURNING TO FANFICTION.**

 **Hope you enjoy! It's better then letting them just sit on my dying computer.**

 **0~o~0**

 ** _Prologue_**

 _Shipwrecked_

Death stared at them in the form of a towering wall of waves.

Wind howled, waves crashed over their decks, and rain drowned out the panicked shouts of sailors who were frantically attempting to keep the ship from going under. Ropes tied to the mast kept each man from drifting too far into the sea should they be swept overboard, anchoring them to the ship as a last resort.

 _Why in the world did I let myself be dragged into this mess?_ Derek, a mid level Adventurer, groaned mentally as he clung to the doorway that led below deck. Really, the best place for him right now was to stay right there instead of getting in everyone else's way. He was no sailor. In fact, he only came onboard because he had orders from the Akiabara council to check out the rumors of a sea monster that was attacking fishing vessels farther off of the coast.

 _Monster my foot,_ he snarled mentally, _The only monster I've seen so far is this storm._

"All hands on deck!" the captain shouted, a wave of water drowning out anything else he might have said as it crashed over him. Thankfully his tight grip on the wheel kept him from being swept away.

"Is there no end to this storm?" Derek muttered, glancing up at the pitch black clouds boiling above them from beneath his shelter. His stomach rolled slightly, reminding him that while he wasn't naturally seasick, the pitching and rolling of the waves was threatening to make him hurl. "It's been almost six hours now. Just how long can a storm like this last?"

"Don't count on it stopping any time soon," a gruff voice growled as an old, grizzly sailor pushed his way up from below, two large coils of rope hiked up each arm, "a storm like'n this one is nasty. Some ships don't make it out of 'em for days. Some don't come back at all."

The sailor didn't stop to see Derek's reaction as he shuffled past, tying one rope to a nearby rail as he did so and the other end around his waist. A few seconds later he'd handed out the rest of the rope to the last of the untied working sailors as they quickly secured themselves. Off to the side Derek could see some people climbing back up from where they'd been swept overboard, the only thing between death by drowning and safety the thin rope tied around them.

Derek swallowed thickly and huddled further under his rainproof overcoat, which was turning out to not be so rainproof. He could vaguely hear the captain shouting over the storm, and the crew responding, but he didn't listen.

Death, while not a permanent consequence for him in this world, still had its downsides. Derek would rather not face death again if he could help it. Well, in this case he really couldn't help it.

The boat suddenly jerked and the planks under his feet shuddered suddenly, a low, grinding shiver. Derek felt his breath catch. The crew themselves seemed to freeze. If it weren't for the storm still raging around them he would have said that it looked like time itself had stopped. For several moments nobody moved . . . and then with a rumbling _crack_ the ship slipped sideways, listing to the left and bringing its mast dangerously close to the water.

"What in the . . ." Derek heard the captain shout, "Someone tell me what we just hit!"

Derek's knuckles whitened further from their grip on the doorframe. He stumbled when the ship shuddered again. This time it felt like the other side had run into something, but in the darkness it was impossible to tell.

"Captain! It appears to be a reef!" a young sailor with blond hair shouted, pointing at the water with wide eyes, "I see dark rocks just under the surface!"

The captain cursed and turned his eyes forward. Derek followed his example and felt his breath hitch. Now that he was watching he could see that the white spray being thrown into the air wasn't just from waves crashing down on water . . . but also against pillars of rock that ominously jutted out of the cool blue ocean.

"We're dead." Derek shook his head, "There is no way that we will make it through. The bottom of the ship is probably punctured, and there is no land out here. I checked the maps. If we sink now . . ."

The captain, however, wasn't about to give up just yet. With a deep grown he shouted at the crew to get a spotter up front to help guide him. The boy who'd first seen the rocks was quick to obey, running up to the front and gripping the figurehead. His small voice almost didn't carry over the wind, but the captain managed.

Lightning flashed in the far distance, briefly illuminating their path forward.

With a groan the ship began to turn. Derek could almost hear the old boat screaming in pain as it twisted more than it should, but he didn't have time to consider it. His eyes were focused forward, beyond the waves, the rocks, or the ship, gazing at the dark, looming shadow not too far from them.

"Is that," he whispered, staring upwards "A tree?"

If it was a tree, then it was bigger than any tree he'd ever seen in his life.

The ship shuddered and jerked, making one last run . . . and then ground to a halt. Another flash of lightning revealed a stretch of beach directly in front of them just a few meters away, although the boat was too large to go farther into the shadows. Derek had researched the maps and studied the charts before leaving on this quest. He may not be a sailor, but he knew where they would find land approximately. Currently, they were supposed to be in the middle of no where.

Derek swallowed thickly as the crew began to prepare to disembark with as many supplies as possible into the landing boats.

There is no island here, on any physical map.

So why . . .

"Where in the world did that storm take us?"

 _Two Months Previous . . ._

Kirito groaned as he slowly came back to consciousness. His eyelids flicked slightly and then opened, staring up at the bright green canopy with a frown. His heartbeat drummed insistently against his skull, making him wince. His arm seemed almost too heavy as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose in a hope to reduce the pain.

"What . . . what happened?" he muttered, grimacing. Slowly he pushed himself into a sitting position. "I remember coming home from school and logging into Alfheim but then . . ."

Then . . .

He'd planned to meet up with Asuna before going on a quest with her. They were going to meet up in a tavern just a little ways from the World Tree. He remembered flying over the forest and then a warning sign popping up. Something about a system malfunction and that everyone was going to be logged out immediately.

Only one problem, Kirito noted as he glanced down at his black clad form, concealed and unconcealed weapons shifting slightly as he twisted to get a good look at his surroundings.

He hadn't been logged out, but this felt _too real_ to be the virtual world.

"Kirito!" a female voice shouted distantly and Kirito's eyes snapped upward with relief as he shouted back and jumped to his feet.

"Asuna? Are you ok?! Do you know what happen . . ." his last word trailed off, incomplete, as he saw her, his eyes wide. "Asuna?"

She landed gently on the ground, _golden_ wings fluttering nervously behind her but not disappearing. Her strawberry blond hair rustled gently in the wind, so different than the blue that he'd slowly become used to. Yui popped out of one of the female fairies pockets but stayed silent, watching both of them.

"Kirito," Asuna met his gaze grimly, "we have a problem."

 **That's it. That's everything that I have.**

 **Basically its a crossover with Log Horizon where all of Alfheim gets dragged into the world of Elder Tales, placed somewhere in the sea. An adventurer shipwrecks there with a few People of the Land and encounter some of the local people, all of whome hide their faces and talk with a strange accent. In exchange for shelter and food, the adventurer and his crew agree to bring a select party back with them to the mainland. Kirito and a few others are selected to go. During this time the term 'Alv' is mentioned, which the fairies assume means 'Alf'. One objective of this party is to find a so called 'half-alv' and see if there are any similarities, which means traveling to Akihabara. There Kirito meets Shiro.**

 **Anything beyond that point is unplanned.**

 **Hope you had fun reading. If you want to adopt this story, please PM me.**


	2. New Reality

**A/N: So, good news, I did end up writing another chapter for this. Bad news? I did it because my phone broke and now I am bored. Not sure if I will ever add another chapter, but until I can get a new phone that is a possibility.**

 **I hope that you like the chapter! Please let me know what you all think!**

Chapter 1

 _New Reality_

Despite the original panic, their current predicament was no Death Game.

Yes, no one could log out, but it was also discovered that the revival system still worked shortly after the crash. Several different fairies did mention that it felt like their memories were slightly fuzzy after being brought back, but other than that there were no consequences. Flying was still possible, and it seemed that the flight limit had also dissolved somewhere during the transition. Now the reason someone fell was that they went so high they couldn't breathe.

Ironically, the initial chaos that followed the Transition, as they'd taken to calling it, died down after a few hours. SAO survivors, scattered throughout the fairy races, suddenly found themselves in positions of power just under their elected leaders as people turned to them for advice and guidance. These survivors were quick to respond and within nearly two days of the Transition an organizational council had been set up with representatives from all of the races.

Not surprisingly, Asuna ended up leading it, as the 'unofficial' Fairy Queen. Somewhere during the process her old ALO avatar (which she'd grown to hate after _that_ experience) had been reactivated. So, as the only currently full blooded Alf on the Island all of the other Fairy races looked to her. Not only did her experiences as a SAO survivor endear her to the other survivors, but her new species placed her above the average player in ALO.

Even so, it was still interesting to realize just how many people were willing to accept the fact that their might be no way back. Yes, some players were devastated by the loss of families and friends that they left behind, but for the most part everyone accepted that this might be their new life. For most of them, ALO probably felt more like home than Japan did, which helped in the transition process.

Kirito himself stayed as far away from the political complications as he could get. Which wasn't far enough, seeing as he was _married_ to the leader of the Council.

Why oh why did Asuna have to be such a good leader?

Kirito groaned as he was pulled from his musing by a bubble of laughter next to his ear. Blinking slowly he glanced up at his daughter, Yui, and sighed.

"Is it time to get up already?" he muttered, resting a hand over his forehead and gently rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Yui giggled again and bounced backward. She really had too much energy in the mornings. "Mama says that you need to get up if you want breakfast! Oh, and there is a new stack of paperwork that she needs you to fill out!"

Kirito almost let himself fall back into the bed. Almost.

Paperwork was another bane of his life that he'd found he'd come to hate. Asuna didn't have a lot of time between Council meetings, taking care of their small family, and taking care of herself. When he'd seen how exhausted she was after just a week he'd offered to try and lighten some of her workload.

When he'd said that, he meant that he was willing to scare some of the more obnoxious Council representatives into cooperation, not volunteer to do her paperwork for her.

"Kirito!" Asuna's voice echoed through their small house, a tree dwelling located just outside of Alne, the capital of Alfheim. Due to the sudden need for real homes instead of just inns, there had been a scramble to figure out living quarters for the many different fairies that found themselves without a place to stay. Thankfully, a little bit of magic went a long way in shaping homes out of the bordering trees when purchasing a house in the city wasn't an option. Most of the monsters, which had also transferred over, were wary of the fairy settlements and typically didn't bother the new settlements that were popping up everywhere. Different races had different solutions, of course, but Kirito found that he was quite fond of the small home Asuna and a few others had managed to carve out of the massive tree.

"Kirito?!" Asuna called again, and Kirito sighed, pulling himself completely off of the bed.

Yui smiled brightly and grabbed his hand, dragging him through the door toward their kitchen. "Come on, Papa!" she cheered, "Mama made eggs and rice this morning! I helped!"

Kirito chuckled slightly, absently scrolling through his inventory and equipping his coat and gear as they walked, "Did you now? I'm almost afraid to try it."

"Papa!" Yui pouted at Kirito's teasing, but brightened back up as they wandered into the kitchen. "Mama! I brought Papa! He was sleeping in again."

Asuna smiled at the two of them and smoothed out the wrinkled in her apron. "That's your Papa for you," she grinned and her eyes twinkled, "Did I ever tell you about the time that I found him slacking off and sleeping under a tree when he should have been helping map out dungeons?"

Yui blinked and then looked between the two, her nose scrunching up, "I think I remember it . . ."

Back in SAO, Yui had been the Mental Health Program, which had watched over the world. She had been heavily restricted, but some things had managed to slip through, which is why she'd manifested herself to both Kirito and Asuna the first chance she'd gotten to escape. As such, she often came across as all-knowing, despite her physical age.

Asuna shook her head slightly and leaned down to bob Yui on the nose. "Stories like these are best when told from the source," she commented.

Kirito chuckled slightly as he watched the two interact, running his free hand through his hair to attempt to tame it. "You know," he spoke up, attracting both of their attention, "As I recall, you ended up falling asleep right next to me."

Asuna flushed and glanced to the side, muttering, "Well, that is _one_ way to look at it."

After a few moments the whole family burst into laughter. Conversation flowed as they settled down to eat the morning meal. Plans were made. Yui decided to accompany Asuna to her meetings, and Kirito muttered about burning paperwork if it wouldn't result in more paperwork. It'd been two months since ALO transitioned over to this almost _too real_ world, but there was still lots to do and work through.

As the small family parted ways, none of them could have known the chaos that had landed on their shores just a few hours before, a short distance from the Cait Sith Capital to the west . . .

0~o~0

Ai hadn't been an ALO player for more than a few months when the Transition occurred. She had, of course, heard about the tragedy of SAO and the thousands of deaths that had resulted from its insane creator, but she'd never felt that bone crushing terror of being trapped inside of a game herself. Until ALO decided to up and become real, of course.

Don't get her wrong. She and all of the other players realized pretty quickly that death wasn't permanent here like it was in SAO (in fact, one of her friends had even wondered if they had essentially become _immortal_ since they couldn't age _or_ die), but that didn't change the fact that they were still trapped with no way out. There wasn't even some quest that needed to be completed in order to be released. On top of that, ALO had fundamentally changed. It no longer _felt_ like the game they'd come to know. Objects still shattered into glowing square pixels when broken, but the moss on the trees rubbed off on your hands. You could actually feel the wind as it brushed past, and the ground was soggy after a rainstorm when you walked over it barefoot. ALO had, from what they could see, become _real._

This caused its own problems, both for her and for the other fairy races. Not only had the world they'd come to know change, their avatars were also different. Ai herself realized just a few days after the Transition that her catlike tendencies were enhanced. She was somewhat used to dealing with them as they were preprogrammed, but they seemed to influence her more and more as the days went by. Her hearing was sharper, her eyes more keen, and a warm spot of sunlight on a rock just _begged_ her to stretch out on it . . .

Even with these problems, however, Ai couldn't bring herself to feel overly devastated about the whole situation. Alfheim had become a second home to her. As an older, average collage student with distant parents she'd never really been close to her family back in Japan. All of her friends had also been logged in on the day of the Transition, so she wasn't lonely, either. Given time, she might even come to think of Alfheim as her _real_ home, a place where she could belong without being constantly judged. She'd even met a guy she kind of liked.

Which led her to her current predicament, actually, so maybe that wasn't such a good thing.

"Rats," she coughed, stumbling away from the smoking cave behind her, "'Let's go on a quest!' he says, 'it will be fun!' he says. 'There might even be dragon eggs as a prize!' he says! Arrg!" Pumping her fist into the air Ai screeched into the sky. Several of the local birds took flight at her yowl of rage. "More like a nesting Mama Dragon! What is he, stupid!? If he was still here I'd be taking a strip out of his hide!"

This was mostly the new instincts talking. Ai was a normally shy girl, but at the moment she had no reason to hold back.

"He even had to guts to go an' _die_ on me, the mongrel!" Clawed fingers took a chunk out of a nearby tree and several hogs that had been in the area huddled farther under the bushes to avoid detection. You do _not_ get in the way of a raging Cait Sith. They could be just as temperamental as the dragons they cared for. Her golden eyes flashed in anger as she stormed through the underbrush. "If he ever decides to show me his ugly furry ears near me again I'll rip them off!"

The time limit placed on flight still applied to this new reality, unfortunately, so Ai was stranded on the ground until her wings recharged. This, of course, only increased her rage. She really should have known that a quest so far away from any of the large fairy settlements would have a higher difficulty than she was used to. Really, if she'd actually given it some thought before _stupidly_ flying out after her crush maybe she'd have had some _common sense_.

A loud _Boom_ suddenly echoed across the silent forest. Ai froze mid rant and dropped to the ground. Her catlike crouch and speckled pelt made her near invisible in the underbrush. Her ears pricked forward, listening intently to her surroundings. Now that she was listening, everything seemed strangely _off_ , for some reason. She could understand the creatures being quiet around _her_ , but for a nearly _fifty kilometer radius?_

From the direction of the crash Ai could here was sounded like faint voices. She frowned. They were still far enough in Cait Sith territory that there shouldn't be any border disputes happening (despite how much the Council like to believe that all of the border issues had been solved there were still some overenthusiastic players out there who liked to cause trouble), and she was doubtful any other dragons would be willing to enter the territory of a nesting mother. Knowledgeable players would be wise to steer clear as well.

So, who was it?

Curiosity kicking in, Ai felt her muscles in her legs tense up. She glanced down at her timer and scowled slightly. She still had another two minutes before she could fly again. Thankfully, she didn't have to rely only on flight to get where she wanted. With a slight hiss she crouched against the ground and then bounded forward, ricocheting off of trees and rocks like a silent wrath, occasionally using her hands as well as her feet for balance. Like a cat she bounded through the forest, running almost half the speed she could fly at.

It had taken some getting used to, being able to run like this, but that was part of the reason Ai had chosen Cait Sith for her race. The physical advantages were a nice boost. Who needed magic when your opponent could slice you up before you finished the incantation?

Her ears swiveled atop her head, listening for any hint of what she was running toward. Seconds later she landed silently in the upper branches on a large tree, ears tilted forward. There! What was that –

"Oi, Arnold, did you see that?"

"See what, you old coot? If you can't _see_ , I'm actually trying to work here, something that you would do well to help with."

Voices. At least five people. The trees blocked most of her view, but they defiantly didn't sound normal. Their voices were accented in a way she didn't recognize.

That and the giant tree they seemed to have cut down and were currently sawing into pieces didn't fit the bill for any of the other fairy races. Who needed to come into Cait Sith territory for _wood_ , of all things? Not only that, but the trees were a large part of the ecosystem. They were so hard to destroy, even in battles, that they were considered near sacred by the fairies according to lore.

So, who in the world dared to cut one down?

Gripping the branch with one hand, Ai leaned down and poked her head through the leaves to get a better view of what was going on. Her breath caught in her throat.

Five figures wandered below. One of them, an older fellow with a white beard was sitting on the stump of the tree smoking a pipe of something. Ai sniffed the air, but the sent was unfamiliar to her keen senses. His thick white brows made it hard to tell where he was looking because they covered both of his eyes in a thick brush of white.

Two others were working on the branches of the tree. They'd chosen an Evergreen, one of the rarer trees for this side of the forest and the only kind that grew straight instead of curved. The branches were long but thin, with prickly needles at the end of each offshoot. They couldn't have been more than fifteen at most. Both wore worn clothing in shades of brown and off-white, nothing you would see on a normal player.

The fourth was marking places along the trunk of the tree, probably where they were going to cut it into shorter stumps for easier transport. He was older than the boys, but younger than the old man in appearance. A large hat obscured most of his features, but as he reached up to brush sweat from his brow Ai took note of his darker skin tone.

The last man was almost invisible. If it weren't for the fact that she could hear him breathing she might have missed him. He was tucked away against a tree on the far side of the clearing, watching the others work. His clothing was defiantly much finer than the others. The dark green shade blended in well with the trees and bushes, and a sword leaned gently against his side. The way his sword arm rested carefully next to the sheath of his weapon showed that he had at least some experience in weapon handling.

It wasn't the fact that these looked nothing like players that she was used to that startled her. No.

Their ears were rounded.

It could just be that she was seeing things. Maybe she was too far away to make out the pointed tip . . . but if she said that, then she'd be lying. Cait Sith could see details nearly three times as far perfectly. Their ears weren't pointed.

Which means that they weren't fairies.

Ears flicking back and forth in agnation Ai leaned back again, the tip of her tail lashing to and fro. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that her flight had finally recharged, but she ignored it for now.

She had two options here. One, she could follow these people _(strangers / foreigners / invaders)_ to figure out where they were based and what their purpose was, or she could report it to the capital and let them send out a search party. Ai bit her lip in indecision. It was always best to have more knowledge on a situation before charging in, but in this case it might cause more harm than good it she were caught. She had no idea what these people ( _humans)_ where able _(willing)_ to do.

Her fidgeting must have attracted too much attention because the one on the other side of the clearing suddenly sat up, his eyes sharp. He scanned the tree line, reaching for his sword. With the weapon in his grasp he stood up slowly. The workers in the clearing stopped talking as they noticed him. It was their lack of chatter that alerted Ai to the fact that she'd been spotted. A near inaudible hiss left her as her eyes snapped to the man with the sword.

For a moment their eyes seemed to meet, and she could see the exact instant that he realized that what he sensed was something _inhuman_. He may not be able to see her eyes or make out her form in the low hanging branches, but her presence blanketed the entire clearing with a sense of _anticipation_. His eyes widened and he took and involuntary step back. The workers also stiffened, turning to look in her direction though they apparently didn't have the same senses that the man in green did.

With a hiss Ai slowly backed away, never taking her eyes off of the small group. Now that they knew she was here there was no point in staying. At the same time, however, she still didn't want to turn her back to expose herself by flying away over the treetops. When she was far enough away that their voices, which had started back up again in that strange dialect, were little more than a murmur she let her wings buzz to life.

Within seconds she was airborne. Turning North, she shot forward at maximum speed, eating up the distance faster than any sea or land creature could ever hope to cover.

The Council needed to hear about this new development. They needed to know about the humans _(invaders / tree-killers)._ Hopefully, they would know what to do.

A snarl pulled her lips back, exposing fang like teeth to the open air. Beneath her whipping grey hair yellow eyes glowed dimly as territorial instincts kicked in . . .

0~o~0

It had only been three days and Derek was already sick of this island. The tree that they'd seen from a distance created the illusion that the island itself was tiny. That, of course, was a complete lie. Not only was the tree he'd seen too far away to point out from shore, but the forest that lined the sand in both directions towered nearly five times taller than any forest he'd had the displeasure to spend time in. Some of the crew had also been muttering about how the forest itself seemed to have no end.

The first night had been spent dragging as much of the cargo out of the ship as possible. Tents were simple lean-to canvases draped over driftwood poles while the crew tried to salvage what they could from the water-filled hull. Derek wasn't an expert in sailing, but even he could tell that the hole in the side of the ship was bad news. From what he'd heard, the crew was going to try and used the trees in the forest to patch up the hole enough for them to get home. It would, they said, take at least a month, if not more, to get the ship sea-worthy again.

In the morning light everything just looked worse.

The entire side of the ship was scraped. Even if they patched the hole there was no guarantee it wouldn't spring a leak. Many times Derek wondered if maybe the monsters he'd been told about were just those rocks sinking or stranding sailors on this remote, unregistered island.

Then again, apparently some people had returned with actual reports of a sea monster. Maybe they missed the monster and hit the rock instead. To tell the truth, he'd rather face the monster than this place.

There wasn't a lot for him to do other that to help the crew haul things too or from the downed ship. They'd managed to drag the ship up near the edge of the beach so that it wouldn't drift away in high tide. Eventually it would have to be brought completely out of the water to do repairs, but that was still a few days off.

The second day the captain asked him to take a group of workers into the forest to select good trees to cut and replace the hull with. It was at this point that Derek truly came to hate the island. To count, nearly twenty different plants tried to kill him the first hour in, and he could have sworn there were eyes watching him from every direction.

He'd nearly refused when they asked him to go back in again today. The forest, to be frank, was unnatural. He was used to dungeons and creature filled forests from Elder Tales, yes, but this felt different. Unnatural. It almost felt as if the forest itself was testing him and the crew members he brought with him.

Which is why he insisted they go with the closest tree to the beach that they could find. Maybe there were better ones farther in, but he didn't want to test the generosity of the forest more than he already had.

Derek watched the four crew members saw away at the humungous tree that they'd chosen from his shaded spot. It was slow going. The saw wasn't meant for such a large tree, and they'd had to cut into it from four different angles already. He could tell that it was close to toppling, however. Once they got it cut they could bring more of the crew out to haul it back to the beach.

A loud, almost catlike, screech split the air and Derek's hand twitched, his head snapping upward. The workers froze for several moments. The yowls and screeches continued, growing fainter as time went on. Derek relaxed. Whatever it was didn't sound like it was too close to them. With a nod toward the workers he relaxed back against the tree with a sigh.

A minute or two later the tree toppled to the ground and the crew got to work cutting it into smaller segments. Derek yawned, hiding his mouth behind his hand. They'd been working on that tree for almost five hours now and he was looking forward to getting out of the forest long enough to get a decent meal.

A rustle in a nearby tree startled him slightly and Derek looked up, eyes narrowed as he glanced around. "What is it _now?"_ he muttered under his breath as he searched for the source of the sound. As he looked his mind slowly registered the eerie silence that infected the forest around them, as if the very air itself was holding its breath. His grip on his sword tightened. The leaves of the tree across the clearing rattled ever so slightly and Derek's eyes snapped in that direction.

He couldn't see anything but leaves, trees, and more leaves, but the instant he focused on that area he found himself completely frozen. His legs trembled and his eyes widened as he took a step back.

"What-"

 _Danger. Run. Get away._

The fear that racked his body at that moment was overpowering. Derek had never felt such overwhelming fear before in his life, even after facing death multiple times. He could almost imagine two _inhuman_ eyes glaring at him through the trees, as if part of the forest itself.

 _What-what is that thing?_

"Men!" he gruffly shouted, and the crew members who'd stopped worked looked toward him. He swallowed thickly and his hand twitched, "Get behind me."

They obeyed without question. Multiple times it had been his commands that had saved their lives in this forest when unwanted beasts decided they would be easy prey. As they filed protectively behind him, picking up makeshift weapons as they did so, they watched the area he was looking at warily.

Derek still didn't move. To move forward would be to challenge; to go back would incite whatever it was to chase them. This creature, while primal, was clearly intelligent. For several seconds nothing happened, and then the presence slowly faded. Derek felt himself suck in a large gulp of breath as the being vanished back into the forest.

Sucking in large breaths to keep himself calm Derek turned to look at the crew sternly. "We need to go," he said and, seeing them about to protest, glared, " _Now."_

Whatever had been watching them? It was dangerous. More dangerous than anything that he'd faced before outside of a dungeon. It was also clearly at home in this forest, and where there was one there were usually more.

Derek just hoped that whatever it was deemed them uninteresting and left them in peace.

He had a sinking feeling that this was not the case.


	3. Shadows in the Wind

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.**

 **I had a few ideas, so I thought I would write them down. Again, no regular updates for this fic, but I might occasionally drop a chapter as I get inspiration. Reviews and ideas are always welcome. Who do you want to see more of? What kind of reactions do you think they will have?**

 **Also, I lost everything I had written for this story, so this is kind of a rush job. If it doesn't sound as well put together as my other chapters I apologize. I really did lose everything when my last computer decided to up and quit. I had saved a few stories, but it looks like this one wasn't among them.**

 **Anyway, on with the story!**

 _ **Chapter 3**_

 _ **Shadows in the Wind**_

Before the Transition, Alfheim had already had several organized governments scattered throughout the fairy races. They had leaders, subordinates, and armies to defend their territories. Of course, like any group of neighboring countries, not all of these governments got along with each other . . . which is why the Council was created. The Council was, in essence, a gathering of all the representatives of the different fairy races under one roof meant to talk over issues, makes laws, and generally work out problems between races _before_ war broke out. And Asuna, of course, had to act as a mediator.

She hated it.

Over the last several weeks since the Transition and the formation of the Council, Asuna had been in over her head to try and keep the piece between the different fairy factions. Between that, taking care of her small family, and trying to learn the magic that her new class provided, she was exhausted. Dedication and determination can only take you so far.

Months of work, arguing, and secret alliances, however, had finally lead them to this point. The Treaty of Alfheim lay before them all, a simple scroll with all of the rules pertaining to the land, the sky, and the territories owned by the fairy races and the great tree.

The rules, to sum everything up, were that all races could travel between the different territories so long as they were not planning to harm anyone from that race unless first provoked. New players were to be assigned mentors that would look after them until their levels were high enough on their own. There was also a rule that said that anyone who attempted to bring conflict between the fairy races were to be judged by their factions, and if no punishment could be agreed upon, then the issue would be brought before the Fairy Queen to be considered.

Asuna winced at this. She hadn't really wanted any part in this, but just the idea that they had a 'Fairy Queen' to answer to seemed to be a big deterrent for unethical behavior, even if she didn't consider herself much of a Queen. There were more rules, but those were the biggest ones. Honestly, without Kirito acting as her support, she probably would have fallen apart ages ago. The fact that the Council had, essentially, tied her into the position of 'de-facto leader' made her slightly upset, but she could see where they were coming from. Alfheim had its own governing system back in the game, but with a new world came new rules and dangers. Who knows what was out there? People might be content now, but there would be problems in the future.

They were a group of former humans trapped in the bodies of fairies. Already there were reports coming in that the various fairy races had found themselves acting differently than they would normally, driven by instinct that hadn't been so prominent in the game. The Cait Sith seemed to have been hit the hardest in this respect. Catlike urges and behaviors making themselves known in odd and sometimes alarming ways.

What Asuna was most worried about, however, was that she knew that peace could not last forever. They were fairies now, yes, but they were fairies with a war like past and the mindset of a human with virtual immortality. Yes, there was peace now, in this crisis, but what what about in ten years? A century? How long could they, trapped on this island, never aging and never dying, last before everything descended into chaos.

Alfheim essentially being an island didn't help. There were only so many places they could go and explore before the more adventurous would start to feel cramped and desperate.

Of course, those were problems for later. Right now, they were simply trying to bring order to a group of nations that had, until that point, been at war. Asuna took a deep breath and lifted her quill, glancing over all of the other signatures. While she had been lost in thought, the treaty had been passed around to the other leaders and they had added their names. She was the last one. With a slightly shaking hand, she penned her name: Asuna.

The moment the tip of the quill left the page it began to glow and drift into the air. Then, with a flash of light, it vanished. The words written on its surface slowly began to carve themselves into the stone wall of the room they were using, a permanent reminded of the peace that they had all agreed on.

A sigh left her and Asuna stood, ignoring the suddenly slightly slumped figures and chatter around her as she rose. Her eyes swept the people gathered, a collection of both the faction leaders as well as their scribes, bodyguards, and advisors. She took in a deep breath and began to speak, drawing on all of her experience as a sub-captain of the lead clearing group, the Knights of the Blood Oath, back in Aincrad.

"Today," Asuna began, and everyone fell silent, "an unforgettable event has taken place. In all of the years of Alfheim, since the beginning, there has never been such a treaty between all of the races. But today we are gathered," she scanned all of them with her sternest expression, "and have witnessed history in the making. Today," this time she raised her hand and it began to glow with one of the newest spells that she had learned, "we, as a people, are at _peace."_

Cheers erupted around the room, with a few grumbles from the more war favoring factions. Asuna flicked her hand and light shot up, impacting the ceiling, going _through_ the ceiling, and exploding in the sky with a shower of golden light that spread across the entire city, echoing her final words. As her magic swept through their ranks she saw a few of them fall to their knees, eyes wide. Most of them were lower leveled, but she still winced.

Being an Alf, apparently, had very odd effects. In this case, it made the people treat her like their ultimate ruler, a Queen who could do no evil and whose magic was the magic of Alfheim itself. It was sometimes so bad that when they even felt a fraction of her power they fell at her feet. Those with higher levels were less affected, but she could still see their faces twitch.

Really, the power of an Alf was just ridiculous, and she hadn't even learned any of the destructive or really powerful spells yet.

Asuna was just so tired.

Once this was over and she'd done her rounds, she was going straight home to snuggle Kirito. She would need it after today. The stress levels had been high, and she honestly felt numb, like all of her emotions were being drained away. Even anger was getting hard to draw up in any large quantities.

Which is why, of _course_ , everything had to go wrong at that very moment.

The doors flew open with a _bang,_ and a group of Cait Sith sped into the room, eyes wild and fur raised in agnation. In a building it was common courtesy to deactivate your wings, but they didn't.

As one they shot toward her and knelt, startling her and everyone else who had yet to react to their presence. Asuna knew none of them, but she couldn't help a feeling of dread wash over her.

"Your Majesty," the lead fairy gasped slightly as he looked up at her, one hand pressed in a fist over his heart in military respect, "there are _humans_ at our border."

Asuna stiffened, ignoring the sudden shouts of doubt and surprise from everyone else in the room. Her eyes did not leave his even as the sound level began to increase. "You are sure of this?"

He dipped his head in conformation, "Indeed, Queen Asuna, our scouts confirmed it after the first sighting," he hesitated slightly, "There are at least fifteen of them, from our count."

 _Well,_ Asuna mentally grumbled, _That changes everything._

0~o~0

Derek felt jumpy.

No. That's wasn't quite right. He _was_ jumpy. The sailors had even commented on it. Ever since that incident in the forest he hadn't been able to shake the feeling that they were being watched. It wasn't like the usual feeling of the forest itself being wary of them, no. This was something far different.

He hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of them, but he knew they were there. Their shadows drifted closer every night, and during quiet moments of the day he could here what sounded like voices on the wind. The feeling of danger and imminent death wasn't so prominent, but the hostility stayed.

What scared him the most, however, was the fact that even after almost three days they still hadn't shown themselves. This wasn't some simple monsters that inhabited the woods, or even an event boss. They would have shown themselves already if it had been. This, whatever it was, was intelligent. It waited and observed. No doubt picking out their strengths and weaknesses as they worked to fix the boat.

It was almost done as well. At least enough to get them home. It wasn't quite ready to go on long journeys yet, but Derek was pressing the captain to move out as soon as possible.

He didn't know what was watching them, but he did know that he didn't want to test its patience any longer that he had to. They had to leave as soon as possible. Thankfully, he had been informed that come sunrise the following day the boat would have been patched enough to take them home. Derek could only thank whoever might be listening above. He wanted off of this accursed island.

The sailors may not realize it, but every moment they stayed here, was a moment closer they stepped to death.

He turned away from the forest to head back to camp and the boat. As he did so, he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Freezing, he slowly turned to the left and let his eyes focus on the distant outcropping of a cliff.

A speck of black, vaguely human shaped, stood atop the stone cliffs, and Derek felt his breath hitch.

As if realizing that it had been seen, the figure turned slightly, its cloak flapping, and then stepped off the cliff, falling almost a dozen meters, and then vanishing into the forest below.

Derek took a step back, and then another.

They were running out of time, he realized, dread washing over him. The feeling of foreboding freezing his heart with terror.

No. They were _out of time._

0~o~0

It was illogical.

Two days ago Asuna had approached him with a mission.

Kirito, of course, had accepted. Anything to get away from the paperwork monster for a few days.

That had been before he found out what it was. And the faction leaders reactions. And the general unease that was spreading through the fairy races.

It was illogical.

He could understand the implications of what having _humans_ at their shore might lead to. Their world had suddenly become real, so who is to say that there are not other civilizations beyond the borders of the sea that surrounded their small island. The fact that there were confirmed _humans,_ not just other fairies, made the whole situation trickier. How would the humans react to them? Were fairies common in their lands, or were they unknown? How powerful were they? Were they a threat? Would they have to be _taken care of_ before they could spread the word of the fairies little island?

Kirito had thought a lot about this since he had been informed. That made sense. It was logical.

What didn't make sense was the others reactions. He'd heard everything from _exterminate,_ to _enslave_. This was, most likely, why Asuna had put him in charge of the whole issue. His orders, to be exact, were to 'follow and observe'. If he could find their homeland and learn what their people were like, as well as how strong they were, then countermeasures could be put in place. Right now they had no idea if the _humans_ could revive like they could or not, and if so then where?

Which is why he currently found himself standing on the edge of a cliff face overlooking their small camp. It was getting dark already, the sun slowly dimming as it neared the edge of the horizon. Long shadows stretched across the sand and he could see their figures moving about. From this distance, even though his eyes were good, he couldn't tell if they were human or not. This is the place that the Cait Sith had brought him, however, so this must be their camp.

His eyes scanned over them, noting flashes of weapons here and there, but nothing big. He frowned. In all honesty, this looked like a simple crash of some sailors on an unexpected island. He could even see patches were new wood had been pressed into place on the large ship that was pulled up on the beach. If he were to judge, he could probably eliminate the whole camp in moments. There were defenseless and weak, his instincts told him. His eyes flashed.

He couldn't really see their levels, but he knew just from their equipment that they would be no match for him.

The darkness was the perfect cover. They would never see him coming. The night was an old friend. Years of living in and out of dungeons had left him with an intrinsic knowledge of how to move with the shadows, how to mimic their movements to avoid confrontation or attack from unexpected angles. He was a master of the darkness, an assassin of the night. Those who fell before his blade were _weak_ . . .

The wind brushed through his hair and Kirito startled slightly, releasing his white knuckled grip on his swords.

 _When . . . when did I reach for my swords?_

He frowned and glanced over the camp again. This time when the urge came he clamped down on it, eyes narrowing. This felt . . . odd.

 _The weak die, the strong survive. Those who live become targets for another day._

Deep breath in . . . and then back out. Slowly the feelings and thoughts began to fade back slightly, but Kirito still felt troubled. He had never felt that way before. Of course, he hadn't been out much since the Transition, but this was still a little overboard. One last time he scanned the beach, noting that one figure had wandered away from the others, farther from the light of the campfire and _doesn't he know that he will be the first to die . . ._

Kirito turned away and closed his eyes. He . . . couldn't deal with this right now. Calming himself once again, he jumped from the cliff into the forest, landing with a silent thump near a group of Cait Sith who startled slightly at his sudden appearance.

 _They are weak too._

Several of the Cait Sith started to lean back, unnerved by the shadow in their midst. Spriggins weren't known to be the most . . . likeable of the fairy races. Often, alliances with them ended up with a poison dagger to the back. Even so, he was the Queen's appointed investigator and as such they would work with him.

No matter how much they felt like they should be running.

Kirito stood from his crouch and met their slightly glowing eyes. With a calm voice, _too calm, their minds hissed,_ he spoke.

"Tell me what you know."

His mission was to follow the _humans_ back to their homeland and assess their threat level, even though in his personal opinion they looked like they wouldn't be able to scratch even a low-level player of Alfheim. He was to follow, observe, and report back, _not kill them all_. Oh, and also not to draw attention to himself.

Asuna gave him his orders, and he would follow his wife to the depths of Jötunheimr and back, if she asked.

This . . . was no different.

The other fairies may be wary of the _human_ threat but . . . it was all so illogical.

They weren't a threat.

 _They were just weak._

 **0~o~0**

 **And . . . That's a wrap, everyone! I really wasn't expecting that from Kirito. It doesn't seem like his personality, but at the same time I kept being drawing back to the effect that the new world seems to have of the different fairy races. I couldn't just make the Cait Sith have catlike habits without bringing the other races into it. Which is why I couldn't help but think, how would a Spriggan be affected? They are known to be mercenaries, so they are very antisocial and untrustworthy, but the question is** _ **why?**_ **They are also, I imagine, typically hired as assassins to take out high profile targets. So, let's just say that they have an instinctive drive to eliminate things that are weaker than they are, and challenge themselves with the strong targets. The reason that they don't stay with any other race long is because they eventually have the urge to stab them in the back for the experience points. The weaker they are, the easier the kill.**

 **Kirito seems unaffected at first because he is always around people who he loves and would protect with his life. His contact with other fairies is very limited, and typically in the presence of his wife. As such, it isn't until his assignment that he has been 'unleashed' into the world, with only Asuna's orders to keep him from acting out. She sent him because she thought he would be the most level headed of the bunch, seeing as he was the only one not calling for immediate action. Of course, this was before he had been away from her for an extended period of time . . .**

 **Poor Shiro. How is he going to handle a bloodthirsty Spriggan that's just barely holding back his instincts out of moral obligation and mental fortitude? Especially when he doesn't even** _ **know?**_

 **Also, a lot of you mentioned the flight limit in the last chapter and how I messed it up. I can see how you would think that. I honestly tried to make the distinction between** _ **flight**_ **limit and** _ **time**_ **limit, but I guess I have to be more obvious. I wanted to address it in this chapter, but it ran away from me and gave me no room. Anyway, they can now fly as high as they can still breathe, but the time limit activates when they grow 'tired' from flying long distances. Its different for different players. Newer players have shorter distances that they can travel because they haven't exercised their wings as much as a higher leveled player. Basically, the higher your level the farther you can fly before your wings deactivate.**

 **I hope that explains things. If not, I will clear it up in the next chapter too.**

 **Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed! As always, please leave a comment if you have any ideas. Your reviews are the only reason I now have a direction that I think this story can go while having and new and interesting twist. It's very different from what I first imagined . . . in a good way!**

 **I didn't read through this, so there are probably several mistakes. I caught several of them as I was writing, but if you want to point the ones that bug you please do. I may or may not be able to correct them. Re-uploading a chapter can be such a pain, sometimes, but I will do my best!**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Shadows Flight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or Log Horizon. I write purely for entertainment and I earn nothing from this other than the satisfaction of an interesting story.**

 **There were a lot of concerns in the reviews that I tried to address in the story. If I didn't answer everything, please let me know and I will try and make it clear why I did something or made a character act a certain way.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter and the chaos that is sure to follow!**

 **Chapter 4**

 _ **Shadow Flight**_

The dawn came slowly. First, they sky began to lighten from pure black to midnight blue, and from there to purples and shades of red. There were no clouds in the sky, so it was easy to see the gradual change as the sun stretched over the horizon for the first time that morning, shedding light on the shadowed world and chasing back the darkness.

With the sun, also came releaf.

Kirito breathed deeply, tasting the salty sea air as a brisk morning breeze swept past him from his perch. As the sun warmed the rocks he sat on he slowly began to relax, the thoughts that had been plaguing him the entire night finally starting to fade.

It had been so slow at first. He hadn't even really noticed his thought process beginning to change unto the urges to get rid of everyone around him as the sun had set. Even after he became aware of it, it had been difficult to push them back down again.

It wasn't just illogical. It was _irrational._

Kirito sighed and slumped forward slightly, his form relaxing. He'd stayed awake all night simply because the _thoughts_ wouldn't leave him _alone_. With the light of day, however, he'd started to gain a clearer head, and could now attempt to puzzle through the odd feelings and impressions that had overtaken him the night before.

His first thought had been that the Spriggans had some leftover 'instincts' like the Cait Sith that, for some reason, hadn't appeared when he was around Asuna. That thought was quickly discarded, though. Even though he had not really spent a lot of time around other Spriggans, he knew that they weren't all about _death_ and _survival of the strongest_. No, they were more like he was back in Aincrad, Solo players that prefered to be on their own. There was that famous group of PKers that like to hunt at the borders, he'd heard, but they were more the exception than the rule.

No. Unless there was some hidden text in the Spriggan player build (not that he would put it past the game developers, now that he thought about it) that made them bloodthirsty battle seekers, they were generally just mercenaries for hire. Plus, since the Transition, he hadn't really heard anything from the Spriggans that might suggest such a change in their personalities, not like the Cait Sith. Though that might be more to do with their secluded nature than anything else.

Even now, thought urge had been drastically calmed but the dimming shadows, the nudge to _hunt_ something down made his fingers twitch. It didn't have to be the humans or other fairies either, a mob boss or two would do . . .

"Deep breaths, Kirito," he sighed and tipped his head back against the boulder he had been leaning against the entire night. The rest of the Cait Sith scouts were camped out nearby, but they had been jumpy enough (and he'd had a clear enough mind) that he'd decided it would be best for everyone if he didn't stick around. Their twitching had almost been enough to set him off, kind of like a prey in front of an irritated predator. Or irritating siblings just _begging_ to be pranked . . .

Kirito blinked and shook his head.

Last night went farther than simple sibling pranks. Kirito forced himself to get back on track. Yes, Spriggans were known for their mischief, but that didn't explain the _urge_ to _kill_.

So. If it didn't have to do with his Spriggan avatar characteristics (though he wasn't ruling that out yet), then there could only be one conclusion.

There was something wrong him _him_.

Or, more specifically, his ALO avatar.

Kirito wanted to bang his head against the boulder behind him. He doubted that conclusion was right, but it was the only one that he had. The question was, how was he supposed to figure out the problem? If there even was one.

The thoughts had faded to a faint whisper, unheard unless he focused on them. With a yawn and a stretch, Kirito decided to figure this out later. If it became a real problem, meaning that if he could no longer suppress the urges, he would contact Asuna.

Until then, he had a mission to fulfil.

Stretching his arms above his head and picking himself up from the ledge that he'd been resting on all night, Kirito took to the air to search for a vantage point where he could watch without being seen. Without the thoughts clouding his perspective, maybe he could actually learn something useful about the humans that had crashed upon their shores.

The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could go back to Asuna and Yui.

He missed his family.

In a blur of black Kirito took off toward the human encampment, one more silent shadow beneath the trees.

0~o~0

By the time they had packed up the camp and loaded everyone back onboard the boat it was around mid afternoon. The sailors had managed to push the sailing boat far enough out that the incoming tide had caught it and began to pull it back out into deeper waters.

Even as they began to pull away from the towering trees, Derek didn't dare let himself relax. All around him sailors laughed and scuttled over rigging, happy to begin the journey home and get off the strange island. No doubt they would tell stories about their crash and the mysterious island that appeared out of nowhere. Even though they were enjoying the morning, however, _he_ was not.

The figure that Derek had seen the night before never made an appearance, but he'd felt its overbearing presence looming over them the entire night. Whatever had been watching them had _nothing_ on this new entity. Derek wasn't the best at sensing magical power, but even he shook in his boots at the thought of the being deciding that they were a nuisance.

He hadn't slept at all.

And even as they pulled away from the beach that they had camped on for the last few days he still couldn't relax.

Last night, the forest had been silent. _Too_ silent.

"Well, would ya look at that. There _is_ a giant tree!" one of the sailors whistled, impressed.

At his words, Derek and the rest of the crew glanced up over the tips of the trees as the island slowly shrunk the further they pulled away from it. In the light of the day and without a storm to obscure his view, Derek wondered if it was right to call the looming object in the distance a _tree_.

"You sure that's a tree?" one of the younger members asked skeptically.

It be honest, it looked like more than a dozen trees had twisted together in a spiralling tower of ivory that glowed in the afternoon light. If it weren't for the distant smear of green that he could see around the top, he wouldn't have called it a tree at all. There were even a few clouds that seemed to have been caught around its branches, obscuring its top from view so that they had no idea how far up it went.

It was just as _unnatural_ and the gazes that he'd felt.

Derek didn't turn away from the island and the odd looking giant tree until both had faded from sight.

As he turned away, relaxing for the first time in nearly a week, he never noticed the black spec following them from behind, or the odd chill that seemed to spread through the air as it came closer. The sailors that did notice it figured it was simply a bird and ignored it.

Sailing upon the wind, Kirito the Spriggan was the first fairy to venture beyond the borders of Alfheim.

The humans below him were none the wiser.

0~o~0

A week. That's how long they had been on the ocean, and still there was no land in sight.

Kirito, to say the least, was exhausted. While he could fly longer distances than most of his fairy kin due to his higher level, it was still difficult to stay in the air longer than twenty hours. Where in the game there had been a cut off time were their wings would simply disappear, here it appeared that one could fly as long as they were able. That is to say, so long as their back muscles didn't cramp up from staying in the air for too long.

And he just so happened to be flying over an ocean. No safe perches in sight.

Except for the boat sailing peacefully under him.

Thankfully, as a Spriggan, he had access to illusion magic. He wasn't an expert at it yet, seeing as he hadn't been a Spriggan for longer than a few months, but he knew enough to wrap the appearance of a small seabird around his form when he rested on the ships mast. It was irritating. Especially since keeping the spell up even while asleep was difficult.

Kirito also had to be careful not to go anywhere near the boat after the sunset. While not as strong as the first night, the silent urges always returned as the darkness crept across the world. It was easier to ignore them now that he knew they were there and what they were doing. Even so, the fact that he had to deal with them at all worried him.

Was he the only one going through this? Were there other fairies experiencing the same thing? If it wasn't just him, they might have a huge problem on their hands. Kirito knew that he had extreme willpower and determination. The thoughts had caught him by surprise the first night, but so long as he didn't put himself in a situation where they might strike back again he didn't have a problem from keeping them at bay. Other fairies, who hadn't had to go through the horror that was Aincrad, would not have the same willpower.

Worry plagued Kirito. Worry for his fellow fairies, but especially for his family. Being alone with only the wind and a boat beneath him was doing a number on him. Back in Aincrad it might not have been a problem if he had not contact with anyone else for weeks on end, but that was before he gave up the life of a Solo outcast. Having alone time was important, but so was social interaction every once in a while.

A heavy side wind buffered Kirito suddenly and he blinked, drifting out of his thoughts and shaking his head. With a few powerful beats, he soared above the gathering clouds and the wind that directed them. The clouds had been forming for the last day, though they weren't heavy enough to become a storm just yet. If the ship didn't make land within a few hours, however, there was a chance that they would be stuck in another storm once again.

With a sigh, Kirito straightened his wings and settled into a relaxing glide, riding the wind with little to no effort. Just like a bird traveling long distances, Kirito had found that doing this helped conserve his energy and he could fly longer distances without resting his wings. It was still a pain however. If he stayed in the same position too long the muscles in his back controlling his wings could become stiff.

He glanced back down through the gaps in the cloud cover to observe the ship below. Though it must have been traveling fairly fast for a sea vessel, Kirito couldn't help but be irritated that he had to keep the same pace as the ship. If this were a fairy ship, he was sure a crew of fairies could have pulled the ship along at a faster pace. They might even cut down the time it took to transverse the water.

 _Those humans really are pathetic._

Kirito huffed and looked away, pushing down the thought. Just like many others in the past few days, it was little more than a nuisance. It did, however, make him realize that the sky was slowly starting to turn red, signaling the arrival of night. With a sigh he beat his wings to force himself even higher into the sky, letting his eyes drift over the horizon.

The darkness came like a slowly creeping monster. Red turned back to purple, and purple to dark, midnight blue. Finally, as the last rays of light vanished, the sky became lit with millions of tiny specks of light. Stars, an uncountable number of them, gazed at the world below them. With a twitch, Kirito flew in a gentle turn, tucking his arms behind his head as he basked in their glow.

The stars, and the moon, were a reminder that even during the darkest of night, there will always be light to show the way.

They were also a reminder that this was not his world.

 _But really,_ he thought silently, _is it so bad to live in this world?_

A world where he could put aside his worries about finding a job and supporting his family. A world where he wouldn't eventually have to give up his life here in Alfheim. Yes, Alfheim wasn't perfect, by far, but it was a place that he'd come to call home. It was here that he got to see his wife and daughter. His cousin, Leafa (Sugua), was also here.

All in all, Kirito prefered this world over the one that they had come from. There were less expectations, less of a burden placed on him by society.

As he drifted back into the position that he had started, gazing down at the clouds, Kirito silently wondered what it would be like if he had been born a fairy instead of a human. Even now as he recalled his life before being trapped in Aincrad, and now Alfheim, he couldn't help but feel that he'd been stagnating. He'd been trapped, and now he was free. He was free to live his life out here, to make his own choices. And he had the power to enforce those choices.

A gloved fist clenched and he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel on the cooling air drifting across his face.

 _Would it be so bad if we just stayed here, forever?_

Kirito sighed and then yawned. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes slightly, looking into the distance. Beyond the clouds, he could vaguely see orange flickering stars reflected in the ocean. Frowning, Kirito glanced below him where he could see the ship, a dark mass with a torch or two burning for the crew still away. Nothing had changed. He glanced back up again.

Although they looked like stars, Kirito knew, instinctively, that they weren't.

He bit his lip. He should stay with the ship and follow it to where it would land but . . . it may be another day before it came within sight of the flickering lights. Eyes flickering back and forth, Kirito narrowed his eyes.

If they lights were what he thought they were, then there would be no point in following the boat anymore.

Kirito stretching his wings upward and outward, almost feeling them straining as they seemingly grew even larger, and then they swooped downward. Chunks of wind, caught under the opaque membrane, propelled him forward so fast that the clouds around him burst outward in a circle around his path. A light whistling rang through the air as he flew, the air skimming through his coat like an instrument.

If any of the sailors had been able to see through the darkness and the cloud cover, they would have seen a black streak, highlighted in purple and silver, dart through the sky like a falling star. None of them could however, and so the phenomenon once again went unnoticed.

Within half an hour, Kirito cleared the clouds and let his eyes drift downwards, his breath hitching.

He was right.

Drifting to a stop, he hovered thousands of meters above the small, buzzy port town that had caught his attention from a distance.

A human port town.

 _I've arrived._

0~o~0

Asuna was worried about Kirito.

Her husband was a fantastic warrior, probably the best in the entire island of Alfheim, but that didn't stop her from wondering what trouble he'd gotten into this time. And there was no doubt that he'd gotten into trouble. As confident as she was in his abilities, she was also confident that he would find himself in a bad situation at some point. That was just who Kirito was, a troublemaker who couldn't seem to stay out of any situation, both bad and good.

Sometimes she really wondered how he had survived all of those years in Aincrad without her around to reign him in and make sure that he stayed alive. And reasonable. Some of the quests and monsters he liked to take on were ridiculous even for a seasoned party of over a dozen warriors, let alone a Solo player.

Still, he had survived, and come out stronger for it. She would just have to trust that he would be able to make it out of any situation that he got himself into.

No, that wasn't what had her worried.

Yui had already gone to bed and the council had retired hours ago. Asuna had been up late doing more paperwork when the missive had arrived.

The messenger had been a Spriggan, a subordinate of Lady Morgana, leader of the Spriggans. He'd flickered into her home like a shadow and nearly gave her a heart attack when he appeared before her desk. Lady Morgana had been away from the council for a few weeks now, citing something about there being trouble in the Spriggan capital city. She hadn't really paid attention to it then, as there were other things on her mind and her fellow fairy had made it seem like she had it under control. In fact, she hadn't seen another Spriggan other than her husband for over two weeks.

With shaking fingers she smoothed out the message on her desk and looked up at the messenger gravely.

"This is all true?" she asked, keeping the fear and uncertainty from entering her voice.

The other fairy dipped his head, dark black hair hiding most of his expression. The rest was covered by black bandages that wrapped up the bottom half of his face and a hood that obscured the top of his head. The other wasn't tall, probably about average height for a Spriggan, but his attire marked him as an assassin build type. Carefully disguised daggers littered his entire person and his hands were tucked in large sleeves that no doubt hid more. Even so, Asuna knew that the other would never harm her.

"It is true, Lady Queen," he murmured softly, bowing slightly. A formal title hadn't been decided yet, as each fairy race seemed to have something different to address her as, but she didn't focus on it.

Asuna swallowed and stood abruptly, ignoring the paper that was disrupted and drifted to the floor. Here eyes blazed as she straightened, looking every inch the Queen she had been called.

"Give me an hour to prepare, and I will personally meet with Lady Morgana."

The messenger bowed again and spoke, "As you wish, Lady Queen. By your leave."

As Asuna's nod, he once again vanished into the shadows. Now alone, Asuna drew in a deep, shaking breath and gripped her desk tightly.

If what she had learned was true . . . then Kirito was in grave danger. Kirito, and everyone around him.

 _Please . . ._ she silently begged, looking out at the full moon that glowed through the window, _Please let Kirito be okay._

 _Bring my Kirito back to me._

0~o~0

 _ **Fairy Queen Asuna,**_

 _ **First True Ruler of Alfheim,**_

 _ **The Spriggan Capital as well as all of the Spriggans accounted for, have been placed in quarantine. For the safety of the fairy races, as well as Alfheim itself, I ask that you please inform the other leaders that I cannot guarantee the safety of any who travel within our borders.**_

 _ **We are not ourselves.**_

 _ **After I was informed that several of our members were acting out of the ordinary, I became aware that there was something wrong with our thought processes. It is different for every Spriggan. Some of us have it worse than others, and it all affects us differently. In all honesty, we crave battle, and the darkness makes it worse. The messenger I have sent is called Hugo, and he seems to be the least affected of my advisors so far.**_

 _ **In investigating the problem, we found an ancient stone in the center of the ruins of our city which depicts the creation of the fairy races . . . and the curse placed upon a portion of those races. So far as we can translate, the first fairies themselves were born from the roots of the Great Tree. These were the Alvs that ascended the tree to live in the City-Above-the-Branches. For many generations the fairies lived in peace, one nation united under one ruler. As with all nations, however, they eventually fall.**_

 _ **A portion of the Alvs became discontent with their lives in the tree as well as the elders that ruled them. They planned a rebellion to usurp the government, and the nation was thrown into Civil War. It was during this time that the various fairy races were formed. Fairies with like magic banded together and fought. Eventually, the great King of the time, who's name has since been lost, fell upon the battlefield. His heart tore as he watched his people fight among themselves, and so he made a declaration, an absolute command.**_

 _ **With his life, he sealed the command: That all of the fairies were banished from the branches of the Great Tree until such a time as they could work together once again and reach the Great City that rested at its top. They were stripped of their rank, titles, memories, and their abilities as Alvs, becoming the eight fairy races of the land.**_

 _ **The Spriggans were not among them.**_

 _ **We are a twisted race, born from the blood spilled from the first King, and as such we are only loyal to the true ruler. We are his or her sworn protectors. Their shadows behind the throne. All other races and species are our natural enemy. Our purpose . . . is to keep those unworthy from reaching the top of the Great Tree.**_

 _ **Over time, our purpose was twisted and changed as we integrated with the rest of the fairy races. Just like our powers, we are an illusion. To fight and grow stronger, to protect our sword leader, should they prove worthy of the throne they sit upon, this is what we fight for. But without a leader, we have no one to direct our blades.**_

 _ **And right now, most of the Spriggans are out of control. I am not a sufficient leader. While I am the strongest acknowledge Spriggan, even I do not have all the loyalty of my people. Until we are sworn to a lord who can resist the Whispers, or to you as Queen of the Alvs, we are a danger to all of the other fairy races.**_

 _ **Inform the other leaders of quarantine. And if you can . . . please help us. If not as the Fairy Queen, then as a fellow player.**_

 _ **We await your call,**_

 _ **Lady Morgana of the Spriggan**_

 _ **May your wings be swift and the wind carry you far.**_

 **0~o~0**

 **Yeah. I got a lot of confusion over Kirito's odd change of character. Don't worry, it's part of the story even if I am just making it up as I go. Here you get little hints of what is going on. I actually thought about leaving the letter until the next chapter, where I go a little more in depth about what is happening in the Spriggan capital, but eventually decided that I had to add something to help explain that it isn't just Kirito that I'm messing with, as well as why he is unaffected when he's around Asuna.**

 **I hope that helps clean up some of the confusion. I also tried to imply that since it was so sudden the first time Kirito didn't even realize what he was thinking until it had already happened. You can't resist something you don't know is there. I am trying to show that he is slowly overcoming it on his own, even though it continually haunts him. I also left a few little hints in the letter about future events, though I am not telling you what they are or what they mean yet.**

 **I haven't entirely seen Sword Art Online or Log Horizon, so I am kind of making this all up as I go. It will probably be really different from canon, but I will try and keep the characters in character as much as possible.**

 **Let me know what you think! As always, ideas are welcome. I have already incorporated several ideas I was given into the general story idea. If you check back at the first chapter, a lot has already changed from the original plan, and I think that it's actually better this way.**

 **Leave a review if you liked it and have time! Ideas are appreciated!**


	5. Villain in Glasses

**Disclaimer: I do not own Log Horizon or Sword Art Online.**

 **Note: Sword Art Online is definitely easier to write fanfiction for. I had to do over three hours of research into Log Horizon before I even remotely knew where to start with this side of the story . . . I love Shiroe's character, but the plotline to that entire anime is so complicated that I am having a hard time figuring out different consequences for what will happen in different situations. It probably doesn't help that I was unable to see the last few episodes of season two. Crunchyroll hates my computer and it takes me almost an hour to get through a single episode. If it will even let me finish it.**

 **Anyway, if any of you are Log Horizon fans and want to point something out I will gladly accept any advice that you give. Just, please give me the reference so that I can research it further.**

 **Now, on with the story!**

 **Chapter 5**

 _ **Villain in Glasses**_

It's quiet in the small office, though the noise from the celebrations outside somehow seeped through the thick walls. Even so, it was peaceful.

Shiroe sighed as he examined his office. It hadn't even been more than a day and he could already see dust gathering on several of the books that he had scattered around. Papers fluttered slightly as he brushed through the room. A quick glance confirmed that no one else had been in here since he'd left. Of course, with the city under attack at the time, he doubted anyone would have been able to get through to his office anyway.

A small smile slipped over his face as he pulled out his chair and collapsed into it after confirming that no one else was in the room. It wouldn't be good for the rest of the guild to see him so out of sorts, even if he was sure that they wouldn't care. The worst that would probably happen is that they would turn 'mother hen' on him and force him to get some sleep.

The last few weeks had been chaos.

Correction, the last _year_ had been chaos. Shiroe had gone from a regular college student to the hidden power behind a whole city with people who, alone, could probably level a third of a non-Adventurer army. He'd never been much for interaction, but when the Apocalypse happened all that had been pushed aside. He wasn't just Shirogane Kei anymore, he was Shiroe, Villian in Glasses, Master of Log Horizon, Organizer of the Round Table Conference of Akihabara, and unacknowledged representative of the adventurers of Akihabara.

In hindsight, he'd fallen into his role of shadow leader so fast that sometimes he forgot what he used to be like, back in their home world.

A lot happened after the Apocalypse. There was the council of Adventurers that he'd organized, the battle against the Goblin King, the creation of a new kind of magic that can turn one of the People into an Adventurer (though only he and his guild knew this), Plant Hwyaden and their plots, the Abyssal Shaft Raid, and finally the Genius.

He still wasn't sure how they were going to tackle the knowledge that there were incredibly powerful monsters out there with some kind of link to their homeworld. He really didn't want to consider what that meant in light of the Adventurers being trapped here.

Even so, this was the first moment he'd gotten since the last raid in Shibuya. Shiroe leaned back into his chair and let himself relax with a sigh. The paperwork and research stacked around him he left undisturbed.

 _No doubt Plant Hwyaden will make their move soon. We still don't know what their true objective is. Even if we negotiate, it's possible that war will be inevitable._

Shiroe shook his head and let it drop down against the back of his chair. Leading a full raid took a lot out of him, both mentally and physically. "Plant Hwyaden is an issue that will have to be dealt with soon," he glanced upward as he let himself relax further, exhaustion finally claiming him _._ "But for now, it's probably best that we take a break. Plant Hwyaden can wait for a few more hours."

 _Even Adventurers need time to themselves every once in a while._

With a small smile and the sounds of laughter echoing through the halls, Shiroe let himself fall to sleep in his office chair.

 _I'm sure the world won't blow up if I just take a short nap._

0~o~0

The small town pf Choushi had seen its fair share of conflict and danger in the last few months. Even so, the People of the Land were used to rebuilding and going on with their lives. One young mother, Chia, smiled as she watched her two young children playing out in the dirt. The wind fluttered through the sheets that she was hanging and she hand to brush her hand across her face to keep strands of hair from getting in her eyes.

Her husband was one of the workers out helping rebuild the houses that had been lost in the Goblin War. Their little town would have fallen if it hadn't been for those young adventurers that had been visiting at the time. She'd been wary of them at first, but seeing them fight to defend people who didn't even want them around had been quite the revelation. Both to her and most of the townsfolk. That wasn't to say that they would trust all Adventurers, just that she would withhold judgment until after she'd met them.

She and her small family were alive today because of Adventurers.

Her oldest child, Hue, laughed as he and his sister Emilia spun around in circles until one of them finally let go and they both fell. Laughter echoed through the air. Hue was around five years old, his sister four, and they were the love of her life. Chia didn't know what she would have done without them. Their small home was a distance from town, and though it was less protected she enjoyed the peace that her children got to enjoy here.

Smiling again, the young mother reached down to pick up another sheet. The wind picked up again, blocking her view of her children for a split second.

Apparently, that split second was all it took for the children to get into trouble.

There was a thump, followed by soft sniffles and Hue growling. Chia straightened dropping the laundry and stepping out around the closeline with a frown. "Hue? Emilia? What happened?"

She trailed off as she spotted the stranger standing awkwardly in the road. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the situation before sighing. From the looks of it, the children weren't paying attention and little Emilia must have bumped into the stranger as he was passing. Hue, being the overprotective older brother that he was, was glaring at the stranger.

Chia let her eyes roam over the stranger, her heart sinking by the moment. If it had simply been just another villager that they had bumped into, it might not have been a problem, but the stranger was no villager. His clothing, died completely black with silver highlights, was cut in rich, expensive cloth. The weapons strapped to his back were also high quality. Well taken care of and used to. There was a dark hood over his head, an extension of the long coat he wore, though she didn't know why he would wear it in such heat.

She quickly ushered her children behind her and then bowed apologetically. "I beg your pardon for my children, Master Adventurer," she spoke softly. Even if she had a higher opinion of Adventurers now than she did before, it still paid to be wary. "They are young. I am sure that they meant no harm in halting your path."

The adventurer stood stiffly for several seconds. Chia wanted to fidget in the silence, but determinedly stayed in her slight bow without flinching.

Silently, the adventurer sighed and relaxed. "I mean no harm to you or your children. I was just passing through and hadn't realized they were there. There was no harm done. May I ask your name?"

His voice was like velvet. Soft spoken, though a little wary. It was a kind voice.

Chia breathed a sigh of relief and straightened. "Even so, Master Adventurer, I will have my children apologize. They should not have been playing out in the road anyway," she sent a _look_ down to the two children who smiled back unapologetically, "My name is Chia, and this is Hue and Emilia." She nudged her two children forward. "Hue, Emilia, can you say your sorry to the Adventurer?"

Emilia pouted and Hue huffed, but they both muttered a soft "Sorry," to the Adventurer.

The Adventurer seemed to hesitate slightly before he smiled slightly, an arm reaching up to scratch the back of his head. It must have been a nervous habit, Chia noted and tried to keep a smile from spreading wider than was polite. Sometimes it could be hard to remember that the Adventurers had habits and feeling like they did. It made them more . . . _human_.

The gesture had knocked his hood back, however, and he froze as the light of the midday sun lit up his young features. Chia's eyes flicked to his obviously foreign looks and pointed ears before quickly focusing back on his face without comment. He was young, most of the Adventurers she'd seen were, and its wasn't uncommon for his kind to be a part of a race other than human. If she had to guess, he looked like he might be part elf. She'd heard that they had pointed ears.

He seemed to be examining her features as well. Chia almost felt like he was judging her with icy grey eyes. Tension hung in the air and Chia stood still, unwilling to be the first one to break it. She didn't know what he was thinking, but she got the impression that he making a very important decision. Only a second had passed before he relaxed minutely and let out a chuckle. She almost slumped in releaf, the pressure disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared.

With a flick of his hands to flare out the bottom of his coat, he kneeled on the ground in front of the two children, his eyes softening slightly. He reaching out and ruffled Hue's head, making the young man squawk loudly and attempt to set his hair back, though it was a bit of a lot cause with how wild it naturally was.

"Apology accepted," he answered nobly, with a dip of his head, "Just be more careful next time. You never know _what_ you might bump into." It was almost elegant, the way he moved. There was no movement waisted. If she didn't already know that he was an adventurer, she might have mistaken him for a wandering noble. He stood back up and returned a slight bow her her direction. "I, too, apologize for accidentally scaring your children. I might have frightened them with my appearance," he paused and then rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, I should probably introduce myself, huh? I'm Kirito!"

He held out his hand expectantly and she blinked in confusion, looking between his hand and his face. Did . . . he want her to shake his hand? Odd. But, then again, Adventurers in general were odd. Maybe this was how they greeted others.

Hesitantly she clasped his hand in hers, absently noting how smooth his skin felt. She'd have expected calluses from swordfighting, or at least rough skin. Instead it felt almost like her fingers were brushing over the finest velvet. It lasted no longer than a moment before they both let go and the Adventurer stepped back. Her hand felt like it was tingling, and she carefully hid it in the folds of her dress.

Chia dipped her head again. "Thank you for your patience, Master Adventurer," she said as her eyes flicked upward, "I wish you well on your journey."

Kirito nodded. "To you as well, Ma'am," he said and then reached up to pull his hood over his head again only for the sound of a loud growl to rumble through the air. His cheeks flushed and Chia blinked. "Ah, do you know where I might be able to get something to eat?"

Chia blinked and then her smile widened slightly. "I might be able to help with that, yes," she replied.

He seemed honest enough, she thought.

It couldn't hurt to play host to an Adventurer. Her husband might have some work for him too, when he got home. Plus, it would be a good experience for the kids.

0~o~0

Kirito had spent the night in the forest. He thought it best that he not expose himself to any humans while under the cover of darkness if he could help it. There hadn't been another attack like the first night, but it was better to be safe than exposed.

The moment the sun lifted over the horizon the next morning, Kirito dropped from the tree he'd been resting in and pulled up his hood. Even in the faint morning light, his sharp eyes could pick out the winding road that lead into town. While he would have prefered to simply fly, he doubted simply falling out of the sky in the middle of a town would be as accepted here as it would be in Alfheim.

Even so, the town was quite a distance away. It took several hours before he came across the first outer settlement . . . or rather, it ran into him.

"Oof!" something ran into his leg as he crested a hill and his hand twitched toward his swords but he stalled the motion as he glanced down.

 _Human,_ his mind noted, eyes flicking over the rounded ears and slightly chubby cheeks, _A child._

The rolling in his stomach calmed down as he noted the little one's age. She couldn't have been much more than three or four years old. Her clothing was also colored in various shades of brown. She looked nothing like the men that had washed up on their shores. If Kirito were to be honest, he'd say she looked like a farming NPC's child in Aincrad.

 _Not a threat._

As she turned her attention to him from where she landed and started pouting, Kirito couldn't help but be reminded of Yui. Seconds later what looked like her brother stomped up to him and glared as he grabbed his sister and started pulling her away.

"What did you do to my sister, old man!?" the boy hissed, though it was almost to quiet for Kirito to hear.

Kirito lifted one brow and settled his weight evenly. Even though the two before him were only children, likely with no combat experience, it instinct was still there to be fight ready.

"Hue? Emilia? What happened?" a young woman's voice interrupted them and Kirito glanced up away from the children. His eyes narrowed as he settled on what must have been their mother. The muscles in his back tensed slightly. Behind her, he could see the small wooden home and the laundry that she must have been out hanging. The home was in good condition for being this far away from the town, so her small family must have been fairly well off for this part of the country.

A quick examination revealed that she carried no weapons. He felt some of the tension leave his back, though not all of it.

 _She's quite young to be a mother. What is this, the Middle Ages?_ He shook the thought away. _In any case, she poses no threat to me or Asuna._

It wasn't too hard to push back the instinct to draw his swords. He _had_ been practicing, but this was the first time he'd tried to talk fact to face in one of the _humans_.

She quickly ushered her children behind her and then bowed apologetically. "I beg your pardon for my children, Master Adventurer," she spoke softly. Several emotions flickered over her face as she glanced between him and her children. "They are young. I am sure that they meant no harm in halting your path."

Kirito was careful to keep any emotion from his face, even as his eyes narrowed slightly.

 _Adventurer? Is that their term for a wandering swordsman? Or . . . does it mean something else? Probably best to go along with it, though._

He was still wary of the three. Even beneath the bright sun at high noon, he couldn't get rid of the churning distrust that twisted his insides. Still, he forced himself to appear more relaxed as he replied. "I mean no harm to you or your children. I was just passing through and hadn't realized they were there. There was no harm done. May I ask your name?"

It seemed that was the right thing to say because she almost sagged in releaf. "Even so, Master Adventurer, I will have my children apologize. They should not have been playing out in the road anyway," she sent a _look_ down to the two children who smiled back unapologetically, "My name is Chia, and this is Hue and Emilia." She nudged her two children forward. "Hue, Emilia, can you say your sorry to the Adventurer?"

Emilia pouted and Hue huffed, but they both muttered a soft "Sorry."

Even though they were _human_ , Kirito couldn't help the small chuckle as he reached up to scratch the back of his head. It was an old habit that he'd developed in Aincrad when he was feeling awkward. A habit he'd developed when _not_ wearing a hood.

The thin cloth obscuring his ears fell away from his head as he accidently bumped it, and he froze. The woman, Chia, immediately glanced over the delicate points of his ears, and something flickered in the back of her eyes.

 _Kill her._

Kirito clenched his teeth as the thoughts he'd just barely had under control erupted once again and he stalled the knee jerk reaction to draw his swords. _No,_ he hissed mentally, _she's not a threat._

 _She's seen you. It doesn't matter if she's a threat or not, she will tell someone who_ is _. Better to get rid of any witnesses now._

Kirito forced himself to breath through his nose as he carefully let his hand fall to his side. He examined her features again and realized that whatever he'd seen in her eyes had faded. She was still wary of him. _As she should be_. But there was no fear. She wasn't even focusing on his ears anymore.

Kirito almost let out a sigh of relief as he realized that she wasn't going to react, negatively or otherwise. Pointed ears must have been more common here than he'd though.

 _Does that mean that not everyone here is human?_

He put the thought away for another time. The voice had reluctantly retreated once again, and Kirito forced what he hoped was a warm, _comforting_ smile onto his face. He glanced over the two children, noting that they hadn't reacted to his appearance either. With a simple movement, he kneeled in front of the children and ruffled the elder one's hair.

"Apology accepted," he answered and dipped his head, "Just be more careful next time. You never know _what_ you might bump into." _What_ indeed. Kirito wondered what would have happened if it had been some other fairy, one more inclined to react instead of think through what they were about to do. He stood and glanced at their mother as he continued to speak, "I, too, apologize for accidentally scaring your children. I might have frightened them with my appearance," he paused and then rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He doubted a lot of people around here dressed in full black battle attire. "Ah, I should probably introduce myself, huh? I'm Kirito!"

The last part was added on haphazardly, and Kirito wanted to wince. What would Asuna say about his manners? To cover up his nervousness (and slightly shaking hands, though that was more to do with keeping them away from any of his _other_ hidden weapons) he held out his hand for her to shake. A few seconds passed and Kirito felt like an idiot as she glanced between his hand and his face.

 _Do . . . they not shake hands in greeting?_

He knew that it was quite common in western countries, though now he was wondering if he'd made the wrong guess about their culture.

Before he could retract his hand, however, she seemed to make up her mind and grasp his own. It was quick, lasting less than a second, and he let out a sigh of relief when she let go. Before she could notice, he tucked his hand into one of his pockets so that she didn't see how hard he was clenching his fist. Even just the slightest brush of his exposed fingers against his palm made him want to leap back with a snarl.

 _Human hands_ and _human calluses._ They had never bothered him before, back in the real world, but right now it felt like he'd run his hand over rough tree bark. There was none of the natural smoothness that came with the fair skin of the fairy race. It just wasn't _natural_.

The woman dipped her head again and spoke, dragging him away from his disgust, "Thank you for your patience, Master Adventurer," she said as her eyes flicked over him and then the direction that he had been traveling, "I wish you well on your journey."

 _You wouldn't if you knew what I really thought about you and your little town._

Kirito was glad that he was able to keep a straight face as he nodded and replied. "To you as well, Ma'am," he said and then reached up to pull his hood over his head again. Even if pointed ears were not uncommon, he still felt uncomfortable leaving them unexposed. Before he could complete the action, however, his stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. He couldn't keep the flush from his face as he noticed her surprise. He was running low on the food Asuna had made for him to bring with him, so he'd skipped breakfast to help ration it. "Ah, do you know where I might be able to get something to eat?" he asked.

The woman blinked and then her face split into a bright smile. "I might be able to help with that, yes," she replied. "My husband will be home soon, and I was going to make a large meal tonight if you would like to stick around."

Kirito's automatic reaction to say no died in his throat as he considered it. On one hand, staying in this family's presence much longer would be trying. With his instincts screaming at him the longer he stayed he really didn't want to accidentally snap around them. If he went into town, however, he would be surrounded by even more _humans,_ which could lead to worse consequences _._

Really, it all boiled down to his purpose here. The whole reason he was even here was that he needed to gather information on this country and its people. To do that, he needed to talk to the people, or at least to listen to their rumors. He wouldn't have come so close to a heavily populated settlement otherwise.

He hesitated slightly before shaking his head. "I have quite a long way to go, Ma'am," he replied, "So I am sorry to say, but I can't stay. If you could point me in the direction of the nearest tavern, though, that would be wonderful."

Her face fell slightly, but she nodded in acceptance. "This road will lead you down mainstreet. The Silver Raid Tavern is probably as good a place as any to grab a bite to eat. It's probably the largest building on the left side with a red and white sign outside. My husband stops by there sometimes when he's late coming home from work," she commented and then sighed, placing her hands over her children's heads. "Well, Adventurer Kirito, I will leave you to your journey," then she glanced at her to pouting children who were irritated at being ignored, as well as the laundry she had yet to finish hanging, "And I shall get back to my own work."

After a series of goodbys from the children, Kirito continued down the road, this time keeping a careful eye on his surroundings instead of letting himself become lost in his thoughts. Homes became more frequent, as did the people. He did notice a few odd structures in the distance that seemed to be abandoned and overgrown that he made a mental note to check out later.

Thankfully, the villagers took one look at him and seemed content to keep their distance. There wasn't any animosity in the action - if there had been he might not have been able to hold back - but more of a simple awe or caution that the _humans_ regarded him with.

 _Is this what that woman meant when she called me an Adventurer?_

Whatever the case, the more crowded it became the more nervous Kirito was. He'd had to carefully grip the edges of his black coat so that he didn't go for his sword every time someone almost brushed against him. In this wise, he was thankful that the majority of people stayed away from him. It would be bad if he caused an incident now, before he'd learned what the situation was like, and exactly where Alfheim had materialized.

The Silver Raid Tavern was easy enough to find, and it wasn't too crowded. Kirito tugged at his hood to make sure it was securely in place before he stepped up to the counter. He leaned on it, hearing the old wood creak loudly as he did so. The bartender turned around and his beady eyes narrowed slightly, grey whiskers twitching slightly.

"Don't get many Adventurer's in this part of town," the old man commented, obviously fishing for information, "Most o' ya like to stay down by the docks, with ya odd looking ships."

Kirito kept his voice kurt, not bothering to give into the man's curiosity. There was a reason that bartenders were so good at their jobs, and that was typically because they picked up thing that other people didn't particularly want known. Agil had been one, both in and out of the game, so Kirito was all to aware of the games the liked to play. Sadly, most of the information he desperately needed - such as what country they were in and _what in the world_ Adventurers were - would give him odd looks if he asked.

"One meal of whatever is available, if you can. And a glass of milk," Kirito ordered, eyes drifting into a half closed position as he watched the rest of the people in the room. Other customers were clearly trying to get a look at him, but would turn away quickly if they caught him looking back. Some just didn't care, too tired or to irritated to question why there was an Adventurer in their midst.

The bartender huffed and turned, calling back into the kitchen for one of the workers to bring out the 'lunch special' before he turned back to Kirito. It was clear he was disappointed that he didn't get an answer out of the younger man, but didn't push his luck. "That will be two silvers and one copper for the meal."

Kirito frowned slightly and reached into his pouch, fingering a single coin. He wasn't sure what the currency was like here, but he only carried a few Yrd, and one or two Mithril, outside of his inventory. And he wasn't quite willing to show everyone who didn't know that he could pull things out of midair. With a sigh, he pulled out one Yrd and pushed it across the counter. "Will this be enough? I have come quite a distance and I confess I am not familiar with your money system."

The elder's eyes narrowed further, but he deftly picked up the coin and examined it, a frown dipping over his face. There was a glint of curiosity in his eyes as he examined what must have been a foreign coin. "I'll admit I've never seen somethin' like this before. Ye might have better luck at an Adventurer's shop with these little trinkets." He flipped in a few times before putting it between his teeth and biting down. He then pulled it back and examined it with a surprised look. "Well, it appears to be gold, and that's as good as any, though I don't think I have enough in change to give back to ya. Don't get many Adventurers down here paying in gold," the last part was muttered, but Kirito's sharp ears picked it up anyway.

Kirito waved his hand dismissively. "Keep the change. Consider it a . . . curiosity fee."

Meaning he didn't want the barkeep to gossip about him and what he was doing here, as well as the fact that the coin he paid it was so strange. That wouldn't stop the other customers from doing so, but they were far enough away that they hadn't been able to get a good look at the coin anyway. The elder grunted again, a small grin on his grizzly face. "Ah see ya speak ma language, kid," he said and slipped the coin out of sight. He then flicked his chin out at the rest of the room. "Feel free to find a table to your liking. I'll have Mia bring out your drink and meal when it's done."

Kirito nodded and turned toward the far corner that he'd spotted earlier. It had a clear view of the entire room, including the door and the bar table. There was also the added guarantee that no one would be able to sneak up on his from this angle, though if there was a large group they might attempt to corner him. Not that he was going to be doing anything to get that kind of attention.

A few minutes later what looked like an overworked kitchen maid came out and put his meal down on the table. Kirito lifted a brow at the plate of mashed potatoes, corn, and thin slices of ham. It was more than what he'd expected from a small tavern. Granted, this did seem to be a port town, and even in the old ages those were considered trade hubs.

Kirito dipped his head slightly in thanks and picked up the fork that had been offered. He'd used them often enough in Aincrad to understand how they worked. He dipped it in the mashed potatoes first and took a bite. He wasn't expecting much, since he was so used to Asuna's cooking, just something to calm the rumble in his stomach.

 _Even if it is_ human _food._

The moment the scoop of potatoes hit his tongue Kirito gagged. He swallowed thickly, instinctively, and quickly washed the small bite down with the cup of milk. The maid watched him with worry, clearly distressed by his reaction, but he just waved her away as he tried to keep the bite from making a reappearance. She hesitated, but then slumped slightly and left.

Kirito carefully set the fork down and looked over the rest of the meal that had been placed in front of him with a wary eye. It had been a few months since he'd eaten anything made by _human_ hands, but he distinctly remembered that it didn't have the taste and texture of _ash._ With a little more caution, he poked at the corn and lifted one small piece. He examined it carefully, but found no flaw in its appearance. He shuddered slightly then popped it in his mouth . . . only to spit it out again with a grimace and push the entire plate away.

The milk, at least, had no flavor at all. It was as tasteless as water, and much easier to force down. With a sigh, Kirito leaned back in his seat with the cup cradled in his hands.

 _Note to self,_ he grumbled angrily, _human food is poison._

He let his eyes drift closed so that only a sliver of white could be seen beneath his lashes and tipped his head forward. Silently, he began to focus his attention outwards, as he should have been doing since the beginning. It didn't take long before the conversations around the tavern drifted toward him and Kirito frowned as he tried to sort through them, long ears twitching beneath his hood.

"Man, can you believe the Matron? She's been working us to the bone lately . . ."

"How's your wife been, lately, Jun? I hear . . ."

"There's been a lot of storms lately. You think the latest attack has something to do with it, maybe?"

"Nah, the Adventurers took care of those Giant Moths pretty quick. It was sure scary though."

Kirito flicked his eyes in the direction of the last conversation, eyes narrow. There was that word again. _Adventurers_.

"I slept right through it. Got caught in the first wave. My wife told me about it afterword. What happened again?"

There were two men about three tables away. One was middle aged, with gry scruff around his chin and neck. His burrly appearance and huge arms suggested he was used to heavy lifting. His companion was younger by about a decade, clean shaven, and clearly of higher standing if the quality of his clothing was anything to go by. It was this man that spoke next.

"You know that Adventurer city? Akihabara?" the elder nodded and the boy's inquiry, "Well, they say that the Villain in Glasses led a raid on the Moth Nest personally."

Kirito dipped his head further, a sinking feeling settling into his gut that had nothing to do with the food he'd swallowed.

 _Villain in Glasses? That sounds . . . ominous._

The elder sputtered and coughed, hitting his chest to help expel some of the liquid that had gone into his lungs in his surprise. The man blinked narrowly at the boy and growled gruffly, "You pulling my leg, lad? The Villain in Glasses himself?"

The boy nodded so fast that it almost looked like his head was going to bob off. "Yeah. Him and his guild, along with two other guilds joined him. Apparently the Adventurers were affected like the moths too. I head down by the docks that it wasn't just Akihabara that was affected, either. There was apparently a Raid Boss that took over one of the buildings and made it into a Raid Zone. It was a big deal. Almost as big as the Goblin King incident."

Sighing, the older man put down his drink and shook his head, "Lad, your a little too interested in the Adventurers and what they do. It's best to just stay out of their business. Let the Adventurers be Adventurer and People be People."

The boy's face twisted, "Yeah, well, that was _before_ the Apocalypse. The Adventurers have changed, Rob, and that means that we can't just keep treating them like we normally do. You know the stories," the boy leaned forward, "What if the really _do_ come from another world?"

Wood screeched as the man stood up, face shadowed in lines and furrows. The tavern quieted for a moment and then picked back up again. Running a hand through his hair, the old man sighed. "Look, lad, I don't particularly care about where the Adventurers do or do not come from, only that they keep the monsters away. So long as they do their job, I don't care what they are doing," he pulled his hat over his head as he gathered his things from his chair, "And as for the Villain in Glasses . . ." he paused and glared at the boy who shrunk back slightly, "He's one Adventurer that you don't want to pay attention to you. Been around for decades, that one has."

With a dip of his head, the man slipped out of the tavern, leaving the slightly slumped boy behind.

Hidden in his shadowed corner, Kirito didn't even twitch. His dark eyes stared straight ahead and his fingers clenched around his drink so hard that there were small fractures forming in the glass.

 _Raid. Raid Zone. Raid Boss. Guild. Goblin King._

All familiar terms. None of them used in day to day life in the real world.

 _From another world . . ._

It couldn't be.

 _Adventurers._

Kirito stood silently and slipped from his seat, ghosting through the tavern and stepping outside. No one paid him any mind. It was as if no one had even realized he was there. The only evidence left behind was the empty, slightly cracked glass and untouched plate of food.

The sun was setting as he left. A quick glance revealed that there was no one nearby and Kirito stepped into the shadows between two buildings. Within seconds, a dark blur shot into the air and darted toward the nearby forest, unseen in the darkness.

Uncertainty warred within him.

If what he'd heard was right . . . the fairies might not be the only people dragged into this world from their own. And if that was the case, they might soon be facing opponents as strong or stronger than they were.

He had to get word to Asuna.

0~o~0

Derek wanted to kiss the ground as he stepped off of the ship he'd been trapped with for over a month. Land sweet land, with monsters he knew and people he could trust to guard his back in fight. Best of all, they were nowhere near the creepy island. It was far enough away that nothing would be able to cross that distance without a boat, and he'd checked every inch of the one that they'd been on. Nothing had snuck onboard, and he really meant _nothing._ Not even the little gecko-lizard he'd found in the apple barrel had been spared.

He wasn't risking anything from _that island_ finding its way to the mainland. That could be . . . catastrophic.

He sighed happily and tipped his head back, breathing in the sea breeze with a hint forest and trees. Around him the sailors that he'd been traveling with chuckled. No doubt they thought him a little insane, but he didn't care.

Better insane than dead.

He looked up at the darkening sky with a smile, leaning back and popping his back. It sure what good to be home where he could leave that horrible mission behind -

Derek froze.

It had been fast, almost too fast for him to catch, but it had been there. A black streak fell like a shooting star deeper into the mainland. It could have been anything. A bird, an arrow, something . . .

His hands trembled.

Somehow, Derek felt as if he'd just made one of the worst mistakes of his life.

0~o~0

 **Well, there you have it. Not sure how long this is, but it took me three days to write. Write. Not Edit.**

 **I think that it turned out well, though. We are starting to really get into the other side of the story. We've seen how the Fairies are acting and reacting to the situation, but here is a little hint at what is** _ **going**_ **to happen. We also got to see Kirito interacting with other humans and his first exposure to this world's culture and people. Or, at least, the People of the Land.**

 **And I haven't even gotten to the best part yet . . .**

 **Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed! As always, feel free to comment and give ideas on what you think is going to happen. Everything that you point out effects how the story turns out!**


	6. Fire

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or Log Horizon.**

 **Well . . . here we are everyone! Again, don't really have a schedule for this story. I will update when I can, but past that can't promise anything. If you have any ideas on where you want this to go, please let me know and I will look over them! I am always looking for new ideas to help me continue forward.**

 **Chapter 6 -** _ **Fire**_

The wind rustled the trees around him, a silent testament to his presence. His wings twitched slightly as he stared down at his screen, carefully considering his message with a frown.

 _ **Asuna, we might not be the only people brought into this world.**_

It was short, but Kirito honestly didn't know what else to say. His fingers hesitated over the keyboard and he bit his lip lightly. Should he tell her about how he didn't seem to be able to keep his thoughts straight? About how everything seemed so forgin and _dangerous_ and how he no longer thought of himself as _human?_

Honestly, he hadn't really realized that he was doing it again until he'd been able to retreat into the forest where the quiet night soothed his frazzled nerves. He wanted to tell her everything, but at the same time, he had no wish to burden her with what was happening. She was already working so hard. Yui was helping her, but even Yui couldn't soothe Asuna's worry if it was bad enough.

No, best just go with the small things. He didn't need to tell her about it yet. If it got worse, he'd worry about it then.

Honestly, his reaction in the little town was far worse than he would have liked. He hadn't even noticed that his thoughts had automatically labeled _everyone else_ as _enemies_.

Even the people that might be from the same place that they were.

It was possible that they could find allies in this new continent, people who might know a way to get them home, maybe even a Gate, but Kirito's first thought hadn't been how they could help. It had been what kind of problems that they would bring.

Which brought up another problem, did he even want to go home?

His home in Japan meant school and life and betrayal. It meant living half of his life as a weak, frail, _human_.

Kirito had never been so aware of death until he'd come back from the Death Game known as SAO. In Aincrad he'd been near invincible on lower floors. The only place that ever posed any danger was the front lines, where he spent most of his day. And at least there, he knew that he could trust himself, his equipment, and the people around him to help pull them through.

Being human meant that he had to live with the idea that one false move could leave him dead, with no way to see it coming and no way to even _fight back._

Maybe that's why he hated the idea of everyone here being _human,_ because he hated the thought of going _back_ to that life.

So no, Kirito wasn't going to worry Asuna. She had enough to worry about anyway. Sighing softly, Kirito typed a few more sentences and sent the message, a small smile flickering over his features as he leaned back against the tree and gazed up at the cloudless sky.

As much as he hated the idea of being stuck in this world . . . it wouldn't be the worst thing that had ever happened. And maybe, just maybe, it was better than going _back._

He drifted off to sleep under the silent stars and the gentle breeze, unaware of the chaos that was going on back on the island.

If he had, he would have found the nearest boat and threatened it to take him home.

0~o~0

 **To: Asuna**

 **From: Kirito**

 _ **Asuna, we might not be the only people brought into this world. I know it sounds crazy, but I overheard a few people talking about 'the Adventurers' and how they came from another world. They also brought up a lot of gaming terms that are too odd to be used in everyday situations. It is unconfirmed if these Adventurers would be willing to work with us or against us. It will probably be a while before I can gather enough information on them to tell.**_

 _ **I'm sorry, but it looks like it might be awhile before I get home. I miss your cooking. Everything here tastes like ash and I have no idea why. Do you have any good recipes I can try? I may not have leveled my cooking as high as you, but I have a little experience in it. Even lightly flavored goop would taste better than what I had today.**_

 _ **How are you and Yui doing? Is everything okay? The different factions are staying in line without me there, right? Is there anyone that I need to come back and threaten for you?**_

 _ **(Who am I kidding, you'd scare them worse than I ever could.)**_

 _ **If there is anything that you need, please let me know. I really do miss you. And Yui. Don't forget to tell her that.**_

 _ **Good night, Asuna. May your wings carry you beyond the skies.**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Kirito**_

0~o~0

When SAO was beaten, Lizabeth had been relieved. The ever hovering question of _how long until my body gives out_ answered as she'd felt her consciousness returning to her real body and the nerve gear being lifted off of her head.

This was quickly followed by the realization that her real body was _weak_ and _frail._ Her family hovered over her for weeks. At first it was endearing as she went through physical therapy to regain a lot of the muscle mass that she had lost in her two year stay in the hospital. As the weeks passed, however, it became irritating to always have someone hovering over her shoulder. They wouldn't let her do _anything_ on her own.

In SAO she'd never had that kind of support. The only option had been to grow strong or die. There were a few that stayed in the starting city, but even they had to earn money somehow. Lizabeth hadn't had any other choice. She fought, and she learned, and she earned her independence. To have that taken from her after almost _two years_ of living like that . . .

It was _humiliating._

She loved her family, she really did, but they just _didn't understand._

Some days, she wished that she'd never left Aincrad.

And then the Alfheim incident happened, with Kirito right in the middle of everything. _Of course_. Argo had notified her that Kirito might be going in to save Asuna, who they thought might be trapped in the game. Lizabeth knew that Kirito would do anything for Asuna, and even if it broke her heart, she knew that she would do everything in her power to help him.

But it took a few days to convince her parents to get her the new, safer VR Gear. And then she had to coordinate with Argo and the rest of the group (All friends of Kirito - how did he manage that with his aloof attitude?). It didn't take long, but even two weeks was apparently too long for the Black Swordsman.

Just as they were about to dive back in to help him, they got news. All 300 trapped players had been freed from Alfheim Online. The admin had apparently trapped them as they logged out, and had planned to do experiments while they were left in a comatose state.

This same admin who was also, apparently, Asuna's fiance. He'd been targeting her specifically.

And, Ouch.

No wonder Kirito practically stormed Alfheim as a one man army, defeated the unbeatable (literally) quest, and beat up King Oberon in game (and outside of game as well, if the SAO rumor mill was to be believed).

No one touches Kirito's friends (and especially not his wife, though their marriage wasn't official outside of the game. Not yet).

Regardless of the circumstances, however, Lizabeth still ended up diving back into the game as soon as it was released a second time. They'd had to fix several of the bugs that the old admin had hidden in there, and since she already had everything set up, it was the perfect opportunity to escape her overbearing life for a few hours.

It wasn't Aincrad, of course. Nothing could compare to what she'd had there, but it was close and that was all that mattered. She had her freedom, even if for only a few hours a day. She had her friends from SAO, and a few new acquaintances that she met along the way. She'd even managed to set up her own shop again, though it had taken a lot of leveling to get even close to as good as she was before.

And then the update happened, and suddenly everything was _real._

It . . . didn't bother Lizabeth as much as it probably should have.

Honestly, she'd woken up from the crash, took a few moments to come to the conclusion that whatever had happened had turned everything from digital to real, and then just got back to working on her latest sword. Throughout the day she dealt with several panicked customers who, after she sat them down and made them _think_ through everything, she was able to calm down to reasonable levels before sending them off.

It took a few days for everyone to calm down, and there were several people where were still not comfortable with the situation. Really, it was a miracle that there were enough SAO survivors inside of the game to help everyone get back on their feet. She'd been asked several times why she wasn't panicking for being trapped inside of a game for the _second_ time.

And, well, if she was being honest, she didn't really mind. The first time she'd been ripped from her family it had been _hard_ , sure. She understood what a lot of the other players were going through because of that. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel relieved. She'd already been through the crushing revelation that she might never make it home, that she might die in a false world and no one would know how or why.

The circumstances in Alfheim were different. Once word had gotten around that death wasn't exactly permanent, a lot of players had calmed down significantly. There were still consequences, of course, but this wasn't another SAO.

Probably the strangest thing that came with the transition, however, were the instincts. Lizabeth was a modest blacksmith, with a small forge and shop on the outskirts of the Leprechaun capital, so she didn't really get out much. She did know that she wasn't the only one affected however.

When the transition first happened, she hadn't really noticed it. She'd been content to continue working in her forge and selling swords to potential customers who came it. It wasn't until some cheeky Imp thought it could get away with swiping one of her smaller daggers that she realized it.

She could _hear_ all of her weapons. Everything that she'd created with her own two hands. They whispered to her from the shelves, their history, their creation, the battles that they had seen. She knew every single one of them, down to the very ore they were forged from, and exactly where they were placed in her shop.

She hadn't realized until that moment, but she'd been able to feel them all along, since the moment that the world had become real.

That small dagger had called out to her, telling her that it had been removed without her permission, and she'd acted before she'd even realized. Leaving the counter and the customer she was bartering with and appearing behind the small imp so fast that several of her other blades actually rattled in their perches by the wind generated in her wake.

The imp had actually squeaked when she'd plucked him up and spun him around to face her. She didn't know what her face looked like, but it must have been terrifying because several of the other people in the store actually backed away from her.

She might have said some not so nice things. She also gave the little imp a _very_ detailed description about how much work had gone into the dagger, how much it was worth, and how much she expected him to pay in light of what he had just learned.

In the end, the little Imp had walked out on shaking legs with a much lighter purse and a small dagger strapped to his side. Lizabeth might or might not have been giggling insanely as she counted out how much Yrd she'd earned from the little transaction.

It also gained her shop a very intimidating reputation. Both for good blades and a very scary blacksmith who know how to wield them.

After that incident, Lizabeth had asked around to see how many other people had experienced something similar. Apparently all Leprechaun's had felt something similar with what they had created, be it blades or otherwise. It was also rumored that their faction leader had it the worst, hoarding everything that he could get his hands on.

Lizabeth was glad that she had no desire to work in the government. It sounded stressful.

She was content with her little shop and her weapons, occasionally going out to farm for more supplies. And then there was her pride and joy, her crowning achievement . . . the twin swords Nigrum and Noir. They were supposed to be a gift for Kirito, if he ever stopped by her shop.

Now, if she had the courage to actually give them to him was another thing.

Speaking of the Spriggan, she hadn't seen him since the Transition. Everything had gone a little crazy since then, so it was understandable. Asuna probably had him working like crazy to shut down problems before they happened. He was really good at that.

It was a little strange that she hadn't seen any _other_ Spriggans, however. Even they needed a good replacement sword every once in a while, but she hadn't seen a single one of them yet.

Lizabeth frowned as she placed down her tongs and plunged her latest project into a barrel of cold water, savoring the hiss of steam as the blade cooled. She carefully secured it in place and then stood up with a sigh, swiping the sweat off of the back of her neck and pulling her protective goggles off of her face.

From the front of the store she heard the door swing inwards and blinked. She'd put up a closed sign earlier and locked the door, so why . . .?

Lizabeth tilted her head around the corner leading into the front room and her eyes shot open. A figure dressed in dark clothing stood near the entrance, swaying slightly before collapsing forward. Gasping, Lizabeth darted forward and caught the other fairy before they could hit their head on the floor. As she did so, the hood slipped off of their face and she felt recognition sweep through her.

It was a Spriggan around her age with dark hair and three distinctive whisker marks running across each cheek.

"A-Argo?" Lizabeth squeaked, lifting her friend up into her arms. Dully she noted her side looked like it had been cut by a large sword, the edges of her clothing ragged and stained. "What happened!?"

Argo shuddered and then let her eyes slip open slightly. They were hazy and out of focus, but she somehow managed to turn toward Lizabeth. She blinked several times and then opened her mouth, a slight wheeze hissing through.

Argo had originally chosen the Spriggan race in order to be able to track down Kirito when he logged in. She'd later changed to the Cait Sith after the whole Alfheim incident, however, citing how it would fit her better, being a rat among cats. That didn't answer why she was back to being a Spriggan _now,_ though.

"Argo?"

The Spriggan sucked in another shuddering breath and grasped Lizabeth's hand tightly, her eyes sharpening for just a moment.

"Lizabeth?"

Lizabeth tightened her grasp on her friend's hand. "I'm here, Argo. I'm _here_."

"Lizabeth . . . You need to . . . _find Kirito_. The Spriggans-" she cut off with another gasp, one hand gripping her side and Lizabeth quickly pulled up her inventory and started looking for her healing potions. She didn't have that many, as she hadn't planned on going out for supplies any time soon, but she still had to have one left over from her last hunt. Argo stopped her before she could grab it, though, grasping her free hand in a white knuckled grip, eyes wild.

"The Spriggans . . . Lizabeth," Argo shuddered, face closing off, "Lizabeth . . . Kirito is in danger."

Lizabeth froze as Argo collapsed completely against her, grip going slack as she fainted. Her mind whirled, eyes wide, as she considered what Argo had just said.

 _What in the world is going on?!_

0~o~0

As the sun rose on a new day and the Spriggan Capital finally came into view, Asuna felt her breath leave her lungs in horror.

Sprigvane, the Spriggan Capital, was in flames.

 **0~o~0**

 **Y'ello everyone! Long time no see!**

 **Here is the newest chapter in Island of Fairies for you to enjoy! I might actually have a plot developing, too, if you can believe it. At least . . . Maybe two arcs of it? We will see.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you think!**

 **Oh, on a side note, I might be posting some of the stories that have just been sitting around on my computer. Would anyone be interested in reading what I have written for the following story ideas? Please let me know which one(s) interests you the most.**

 **a. Vigilante Offline -** _ **(Sword Art Online)**_ **\- Summary:** _In the game, a quick mind and a quicker reaction saved lives. Kirito has always been someone to react on instinct, which has saved him more than once over the years. His real body doesn't have the same reflexes, but his mind does._

 **b. Chat in New York -** _ **(Miraculous Ladybug / Avengers)**_ **\- Summary:** _Even while not in Paris Chat Noir can't help but save someone in trouble. If this person just happens to be dressed up as a red bug and swigging from building to building on what appeared to be wire, well, it's an honest mistake._

 **c. To Feel Alive -** _ **(Sword Art Online)**_ **-**

 **Summary 1:** _Argo might have started a gang, with an unknowing Kirito and Asuna as its leading family . . . completely by accident of course._

 **Summary 2:** _Kirito isn't a criminal. Neither is Asuna. They are NOT the leaders of the most infamous famiglia in Japan, no matter what the rumors say. If anyone asks, it Argo's fault._

 **d. Not A Hero -** _ **(Sword Art Online / My Hero Academia)**_ **\- Summary:** _He doesn't care that his Grandfather is a minor pro hero, or that his quirk would be perfect for stealth missions, Kazuto just doesn't want to be a hero. And then SAO happens. And suddenly, being a hero is the last thing on his mind._

 **(Updated: 8/13/2019)**


	7. Akihabara

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or Log Horizon.**

 **Hello everyone! This is a little bit of a slower chapter, though I am sure if you are Log Horizon fans you will enjoy it. Sorry, we're not going to be going over what happened to the Spriggans just yet! It will happen, but not this chapter, and probably not for a few chapters. Instead, we are getting a view from the other side of things.**

 **Welcome, everyone, to Akihabara! Please enjoy your stay!**

 **Chapter 7**

 _ **Akihabara**_

"Ahhhhrgg," Shiroe yawned and stretched, clasping his hands and pulling his arms up above his head as he arched his back. He blinked several times to get his blurry vision to clear, and then stared blankly down at the scattered papers that there floating around him. They had been thrown into the air when he'd jerked awake.

"What . . ." He muttered and then glanced down, only to let out a groan and slump. "I fell asleep at my desk again, didn't I."

Shiroe let out a slight chuckle as he pushed himself out of his desk chair and stretched his legs. As comfortable as the chair was (his guild had made sure to get him a fluffy, cushioned chair just for this reason) it was no substitute for a real bed. And it was still hard on his back and legs. He winced in pain as the feeling started to return to one of his numb feet, the prickling feeling more like dozens of little needles stabbing into his skin than anything else.

Glancing over the pages that had scattered during his nap, Shiroe shook his head and sighed again. A quick glance out the window confirmed the time, a few hours before sundown. He'd slept for half of the day.

With a groan and the slight popping of still cold joints, Shiroe put his hands on his knees as he fell into a crouch and began to reach for his paperwork.

"You know," he chuckled to himself, "If I'd known how much documentation it takes to actually run a guild, I might have just run for the hills."

He wouldn't have, but the expression counted. Doing research was fine, it was even a large part of the Class he'd chosen. Paperwork? That was another story. He understood why it was necessary, but it was still a pain to look through.

It took a few minutes to gather the papers together and place them back on the desk. When he was done, Shiroe took a step back and ran his hand through his hair. Blinking the rest of his exhaustion from his mind, he glanced over the six towering piles of paper that he still had to go through.

"Well," he tilted his head, and pushed his glasses back up to their pace on his nose, "I guess it's about time to get back to work." Shiroe walked toward his desk and turned to sit down when there was a loud growl that echoed through the room. He froze and blinked before straightening and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Or, maybe I should take a break to get something to eat first."

Their guild house was five floors high, and with the tree going through the center of it, it could cut an intimidating formation for anyone unfamiliar with its halls. Shiroe had built this place from the ground up, however, and he was very familiar with all of its rooms. He'd helped bring the abandoned building back to its former glory, after all.

And so, with confident steps, Shiroe slipped out of his office and headed for the stairs that wound around the trunk of the tree. The kitchens were in the basement. It was also where he knew Nyanta, their resident Swashbuckler / Cook kept all of the leftovers from their meals.

The stairs squeaked lightly as he stepped on them, and he mentally made a note to get them checked.

All in all, since the Giant Moth attack, things had been fairly calm in Akihabara. Sure, Regan had been working on the communication device that they had found, but until they got that working, there was really nothing that demanded his attention. It was actually really relaxing, although Shiroe couldn't help but think that _something_ was going to go wrong. Things never did stay quiet for too long, after all, and even peace had to end at some point. He had a few people watching Plant Hywaden, but so far, nothing had developed on that front yet. The monsters were quiet, the people were calm and taking quests again, and their immediate foes weren't outright attacking yet . . .

Shiroe froze in the doorway leading to the kitchen and had to rub his eyes, blinking several times.

Their small fridge, courtesy of the crafting guilds, was currently held open by a small figure in dark blue and purple. Her long hair was tied back with a brown hair tie, but there were several strands that escaped the usually perfect bind. She was balanced perfectly on the tips of her feet with her legs folded under her in a kneeling position as she rooted through the bottom of the fridge. At her back, her katana bounced in its sheath as she bobbed in and out, and Shiroe had to suppress a laugh.

It was rare to see Akatsuki so unguarded or unprofessional around him. Her whole _Ninja of My Lord_ thing had honestly been a little startling. He'd expected her to drop the act almost half a year ago, but now it was so much a part of her that it would be strange to see her without her ninja words and expressions.

Akatsuki must have heard something from Shiroe because, in a blur of motion, she was suddenly a dozen feet away from the fridge, one hand on the handle of her weapon and the other held to the side for balance. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked over at the doorway with a scowl.

. . . Or what would have been a scowl, if it weren't for the slice of bread stuffed in her mouth that blocked it.

The moment that her eyes met Shiroe's, she froze and squealed a soft, "Mi'Lor?"

For a moment there was complete silence, and then Shiroe's chuckle broke it. It was a rare treat to see Akatsuki so startled.

She blinked slowly and then her eyes darted down and widened as she realized exactly what she held in her mouth. If Shiroe had a guess, he'd bet that she'd been holding it when he walked in, and put it in the first place she could to free up her hands for a fight.

That reaction was probably Naotsugu's fault, actually. Those two got along like cats and dogs.

"Hello, Akatsuki," Shiroe smiled at her gently as he walked further into the room, "Are you hungry as well?"

Akatsuki's face suddenly took on the color of a sunburned peach and the slice of bread vanished. Within seconds, Akasuki was kneeling on the floor, one hand over her heart and the other resting on her upturned knee.

"Forgive me for drawing my blade at you, My Lord. I did not expect you to be up yet," she spoke calmly, but there was still a slight blush to her cheeks. One that deepened when Shiroe chuckled again. The fact that she knew that he had been sleeping spoke volumes. No doubt she had checked multiple times to make sure that he was still okay. "What can your faithful Ninja do for you today?"

Shiroe pulled the fridge open and leaned forward to look through it. "It's okay, Akatsuki. I just woke up and needed to eat something before I get back to work. Did you want something as well?" When he glanced in her direction, it was to see her nearly vibrating in place.

"Thank you for your generosity, My Lord, but I have already acquired my meal," she replied carefully, and Shiroe silently wondered where the slice of bread had gone.

When she didn't say anything else, he sighed. "If you want to be helpful, can you track down Nyanta? I need to speak with him on a few matters."

Although her face remained impassive, Shiroe could tell that she was pleased with being given a task. Handling Akatsuki was about knowing when she needed something to do, and right now she definitely wanted something to chase away her embarrassment.

Even if Shiroe thought that her embarrassed flush was actually really cute. Not that he would ever tell her that.

Akatsuki bowed, her hair swaying as she nodded, "It shall be done immediately, My Lord." She vanished with only a flicker of purple lightning marking the space she had formerly occupied.

Shiroe shook his head and smiled. One year ago, if someone had told him that he would be stranded in a world that resembled the game he loved, become the shadow power behind an entire city of warriors, a high ranking political figure, and the leader of his own guild, he would have laughed them off. If they had told him he would also be followed around by a miniature purple ninja who referred to him as "My Lord" he would have asked if they were really talking about him.

One year ago, he'd been an average University engineering student named Kei Shirogane. He hadn't been anyone important, and the one true joy in his life had been exploring Elder Tales, the game that would later suck him in. Literally.

But now . . . now he was Shiroe. Leader of Log Horizon, member of the Akihabara council, and one that the Adventurers referred to as the _Villian in Glasses._

Which was such a pretentious title, but it did come in handy sometimes.

All in all, however, he'd gone from being no one to probably the most influential Adventurer in all of Elder Tales. All in the span of a single year and a few months.

From an outside perspective, he was probably terrifying.

Not that Shiroe really cared.

Leaning forward, Shiroe scanned the contents of the fridge for something that would be simple enough to grab and go. Quickly locating a small bowl of last nights noodle salad that Nyanta had prepared for everyone, Shiroe carefully extracted the glass bowl from its perch and then pulled a pair of chopsticks from his inventory. They did have a drawer for extras, but he preferred to use his own.

He managed to polish off the whole thing before Akatsuki appeared once again, this time dropping down from the rafters on silent feet. A quick glance showed that she had recovered from her earlier embarrassment, and was now lodged firmly back in her Ninja personality.

"I have located Master Nyanta on the rooftop balcony, My Lord. Do you wish me to fetch him?" Akatsuki reported.

Shiroe considered his options for a moment and then shook his head. "That's okay, Akatsuki. I will head up as soon as I am done here." He paused and glanced out the window. It _was_ a really nice day out. No wonder their resident WereCat was on the roof. He was probably enjoying the sunshine. Shiroe glanced down at his own all too pale skin and mentally chuckled. He could do with a little bit of sun too, actually.

Turning back toward the small ninja, Shiroe pulled a small bag from his belt and tossed it to her. She caught it with a frown and pulled it open slightly. Her eye twitched slightly as she saw the pile of coins.

"My Lord?"

Shiroe smiled, "It's really nice out today, and I know that you haven't had a break for a while. Why don't you take the day off?"

It would do her some good to get out of the guild house every once in a while, and not just because she was following him around as his unseen bodyguard.

"But Mi'Lord!" she immediately started to protest, but Shiroe cut her off.

"I will be perfectly safe here, Akatsuki. And if anything goes wrong, I know that you will be here in a heartbeat," he commented warmly, "Really, take the day off. Go by something nice for yourself."

"Mi'Lord!" She started again, and then froze, glancing down at the bag and going slightly red, "D-did you say, get myself something _nice?_ "

Shiroe shrugged. "Yeah," He tilted his head, "Maybe like that kimono that you wore to the cake cafe that we went too?"

"K-Kimono!"

"Hmm," Shiroe tilted his head slightly, "Only if you really want to. Maybe try a light purple? Or maybe-"

Akatsuki let out another squeak and there was a sudden flash of light. As soon as it had receded and Shiroe blinked the remains out of his eyes, he realized that she was already gone.

Shiroe lifted his glasses back up on his nose and let out a soft huff. "Huh. I guess she was really excited. I should let her know to take time off more often."

With a shrug he stood and placed his dishes in the sink. Although the game did do a lot of the basic functions for them, cleaning was not one of them. The members of the guild each took a turn every night to wash and clean the kitchen after meals. If he remembered right, it was Tohya who was assigned tonight, although his sister would probably end up helping.

After cleaning up his spot at the counter, Shiroe carefully made his way up the levels, silently noting that the guild was fairly quiet today. The younger members were out working on some of the lower level monster fields in the area, he knew. A few of the higher leveled players were probably out wandering Akihabara looking for things to do.

He made it to the trap door that led onto the rooftop and gently nudged it open, squinting at the bright sunlight that suddenly hit his eyes.

A quiet, rumbling purr greeted him as he pulled himself up over the old stones.

"Why, if it isn't Shiroe-ichi. I saw Akatsuki up here for a moment and I was wondering when I would be expecting you," the gentleman cat smiled, lifting the grey and white fur around his mouth slightly. Nyanta then yawned and pulled himself up so that he was sitting on the bench rather than just sprawled across the warm wood. "You feeling a little better after your nap, _nya_?"

Shiroe smiled and shrugged, tilting his head back to soak up some of the evening light. They were about three hours away from sunset, so the light wasn't too intense. "I suppose it did help, though I will have to get back to that paperwork soon."

"Hmm," Nyanta nodded and stood up to stand next to Shiroe, looking out over the city beyond their guild house.

Akihabara was a city that had at some point in history been abandoned and left to the wilds. Before the adventurers came, nature had been busy weaving its way in and out of crumbling stone and cracking foundations. Even after the Apocalypse, they hadn't really done a lot to 'recreate' the original city. Personally, Shiroe found the mossy green city to be more beautiful than any steal encrusted skyscrapers. It was more . . . _adventurous_ this way.

"Nyanta," Shiroe commented, "have you heard anything from the Council, recently? I haven't really had the time to check in."

Nyanta flicked an ear and glanced at him, "It's been quiet, Shiroe-ichi. The Council hasn't received any new news since I was there last." He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "Are you worried about something, _nya?"_

"Hm," Shiroe leaned forward and rested his chin on his woven fingers which he clasped together. His elbows bit into the hard stone guard around the top of the building, but the pads on his black sleeves kept it from hurting. "I'm not sure."

"Mmm?" Nyanta lifted one eye slightly from its perpetually mostly closed state. The narrow pupil focused on his guild leader carefully, "You are concerned about _something,_ though, _nya_?"

Shiroe frowned, "Plant Hwyaden hasn't made a move, yet."

"Ah," Nyanta tilted his head in understanding, "Yes, that is a little concerning. Usually there are at least rumors, _nya?_ Are you worried that they are planning something?"

Putting more weight on his arms and letting one knee prop up against the stone in front of him, Shiroe shook his head, "Yes, and no." He sighed, "Honestly, the lack of reports on them is a little disturbing. They had enough power to launch an attack when we were weak, right after the boss fight with the Giant Moths, so why didn't they?"

"Mrrr," Nyanta rumbled softly, considering, "Well, they were also hit by the Giant Moth attack as well, _nya_? They were probably still reeling from it as much as we were."

"Maybe," Shiroe shook his head. "It still worries me, though. It's been almost two months. Surely we would have heard _something_ from them by now."

Nyanta focused on him again, "You're worried that something else is drawing their attention?"

Shiroe's glasses glinted, "They were dead set on taking me and Akihabara down, so why stop? Why disappear? What did they find?" he huffed, "When they were focused on me, I at least knew what their target was. Now? It's anyone's guess."

Nodding, the WereCat turned to look out at their city. "Is it worth getting so worked up about, though, _nya?"_

Shighing, Shiroe shook his head, "Probably not right now. It's just . . ."

"Too quiet?" Nyanta finished, leaning back and arching his back slightly.

Shiroe nodded. "Exactly. When are we ever lucky enough that _something_ isn't about to happen? It's the unknown variable that is so dangerous."

"Hmm," Nyanta looked away, back out toward where several storm clouds were gathering over the mountains, "Guess you will just have to do what you do best," he grinned, "Plan for _everything._ And maybe," he grinned, "take a break? If you are stressing this bad, a day out in town might do you good. Help you clear your head. What do you say, _nya?"_

A small smile quirked Shiro's lips and he tilted his head back, letting a small smile slip through even as his thoughts spun through ideas, plans, and counter plans. "Maybe you're right, Nyanta. Maybe I am thinking about this too hard." He laughed, and the previous stress and worry that had saturated the air evaporated.

"Whatever it is, we will make it through," Shiroe pushed himself away from the wall and stretched. "Thanks for talking with me Nyanta. It helped."

Nyanta chuckled, "Anytime, Shiroe-ichi. Now, go have fun, and make sure your shadow gets some rest too. She looked like she was about to bounce off the walls with nerves."

Shiroe laughed, letting the stress spill from him, "I already sent her out, but sure," He smiled, "I'll let her know," he lifted one arm and waved to the amused WereCat as he walked away. "See you around, Nyanta."

Nyanta gave a small, respectful bow back, lined with amusement, "Don't get into too much trouble, Shiroe-ichi."

Shiroe didn't acknowledge the tease as he slipped back into the guild.

Maybe a night out would be good for him. Sure, there was a lot of paperwork to do, but he had been working on that for almost a week straight, and falling asleep in his chair was giving him back cramps.

Maybe he'd go find out where Akatsuki had gone. He was kind of curious to see what she was doing. She _had_ left in a bit of a rush, after all.

He chuckled again as he swept his white Robe over his shoulders and picked up his staff.

Even if trouble did find its way to Akihabara, one night off wouldn't hurt.

He slipped out the front door and into town, brushing aside the worry that still brewed in the back of his mind. In the distance, thunder boomed as a storm began to brew.

The only question was, was Akihabara ready for it?

0~o~0

At the gates of the crumbling city, a single figure stood, staring silently. He wore a simple hooded cloak that covered his pale features, as well as two plain swords strapped across his back. The figure tilted his head upward toward the half overgrown sign and frowned. It was a bit more . . . _run down_ then he'd expected.

Even so, as the sun began to set, he could see the distant glow as lights began to drift through the sky and streets, lit by active adventurers returning from their quests. With a sigh, he tugged his hood further over his face and let his head fall forward, shadowing his features.

"Well," he grunted, "I guess this is it, Asuna."

Grey eyes almost glowed in the darkness.

"Welcome to Akihabara, Kirito."

 **0~o~0**

 **Well, there we go! I do have a Spriggan Arc planned out, but that will come later (meaning this was written first and, seeing as both Arcs are interchangeable, you get more Shiroe before you find out what is going on in Alfheim)!**

 **What do you all think? Did I capture Shiroe okay? Was he in character? Did you like his interaction with Akatsuki? Let me know!**

 **I figured since I have been focusing so heavily on the fairy side of things, I would take you to the other side of things. It's a little bit of a slower chapter, of course, but it's mostly just to set the stage for what is going to come next. You know, this is probably one of the first actually fanfictions that I am not following any of the cannon storyline on, so it's actually making me plan things out rather than follow the script. I am trying to play to the characters, but also adding in different elements that affect the players in unexpected ways. Everything has really changed from how I first imagined it. But that's just how writing is, right?**

 **Anyway, if any of you are curious about the stories that I asked about in my previous chapter, I actually have an open poll on my profile if any of you want to vote there. I also** _ **did**_ **end up putting up To Feel Alive, if any of you want to check it out. I also posted a new story, Puppet Strings, that wasn't in my previous list. If any of you are interested in the Darker than BLACK fandom, go check it out. It's an original time travel idea that I haven't seen in that section yet, and I am having a lot of fun messing with the characters.**

 **So, as a recap since these long AN's can be so hard to read through:**

 **1\. To Feel Alive is PUBLISHED. It's on my profile if anyone wants to check it out.**

 **2\. I also posted Chat in New York and a new story, Puppet Strings.**

 **Lastly, I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed! You may not realize it, but every comment gives me new ideas! By the way, I don't usually respond to reviews, but would you guys like it if I started picking a few to respond to every chapter? There were a lot of you who had some interesting points of view, and I would love to discuss possible outcomes for where you can see this story going.**

 **Just realize that I am not a gamer, I don't know gamer jargon, and the Class and leveling system goes over my head. So while I will try my best to cover the technicalities, I will probably miss or gloss over some things that you would rather I go into detail on. Honestly, I will do my research, but only to a certain point. When writing is no longer fun, I stop, yeah? So I will be focusing on plot more than technical game knowledge, though there will be some. I hope that works for all of you!**

 **Anyway, you are all amazing for sticking with me this far! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and thank you to everyone who reviewed!**

 **(Updated: 9/5/2019)**


	8. Dreaming

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or Log Horizon.**

 **So, we get a little bit more of Elder Tales. Can fate be changed? Can a prophecy be undone? The Villain in Glasses might be more than even he knows. Akatsuki is more observant than she likes others to believe. Kirito's learning, a little at a time.**

 **I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Chapter 8**

 _ **Dreaming**_

 _The darkness was pressing in from all sides, reaching forward with chilly, unseen claws to scrape at the edges of her ripped and shredded dress as she tore through it in a terrified run, her breathing ratting and ragged. Her dark purple eyes flickered over her surroundings in search of her unseen pursuer and her fox ears stood stiff above her, listening._

 _The wind howled, like a thousand monsters baying for revenge, and she stumbled as one of her bare feet scraped against a loose stone. A soft whimper left her as yet another gash carved up the side of her foot and began to bleed, but she forced herself forward. She wouldn't stop,_ couldn't _stop._

 _If she did . . ._ they _would get her._

' _Who . . . ?'_

 _She blinked slowly as she continued to force herself forward. Why what she running again? Who was she running from? She . . . couldn't remember . . ._

 _The darkness laughed at her._

' _Where do you think you are going?' She could almost hear it say, 'There is nowhere_ left _for you to hide.'_

 _They were right, she knew. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run. The only thing she knew was that she couldn't allow herself to be caught. Not again. Not this time._

 _Something flashed in the corner of her vision and the dark haired Fox Tail slid to a stop as a knife spun out of the shadows and sliced off several strands of her hair. It would have sliced her neck, if she had been a few seconds slower._

 _It was only now that she was standing still that she realized one of her arms was bent unnaturally, broken. The other was bandaged with a cloth that was rapidly turning dark red. Her chest ached, and each rattling breath enhanced the burn that spread through her lungs. Her feet were a lot cause, so torn up they hardly looked like feet any more. Behind her, her tail twitched weakly. It hadn't escaped either._

 _Trembling and knowing that she wouldn't be able to run any longer, she dropped down into a crouch, holding a small dagger in her unbroken hand and snarling like the animal her instincts said she was._

 _If she could no longer run, then she would fight._

 _Even if she knew there was no point._

 _As if sensing her resolve, the misty black darkness that had been nipping at her pulled back a few feet, revealing her surroundings for the first time. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she suddenly felt like she was choking._

 _Ash rained down through the air from the dark clouds above her, landing lightly on the cracked and broken ground around her. On the motionless forms of her former guild, who lay sprawled, wide eyed, across the ground. Above her, the tall buildings of_ her _city, of Minami, were crumbled and scattered, mere bones of what they once had been._

 _And at the end of the street, standing beneath the shadow of the towering, twisted tree that once marked the center of their city,_ he _stood. Dark hair shadowed most of his face, but the four dark wings spread out behind him were unmistakable._

 _She swallowed, her throat feeling too dry to speak as she heft her dagger._

" _I - I am_ not _going back!" She voice was her own, she distantly realized, but the tone was one she had never heard before. Fear clouded her vision, and her knife shook in cold,_ cold _fingers. "I'm not!"_

 _The figure tilted his head, letting the long dark hair sway slightly, revealing a cracked,_ broken _grin. The clouds above them shifted, and a single shaft of moonlight slipped through, glinting off of his wings. For a moment, everything was silent, and then he was gone._

 _From one blink to the next, he was hovering in front of her, wings flared out on either side and daggers clutched in gloved_ _hands._

 _She didn't even have time to scream as the daggers swept down toward her, didn't have time to move, didn't have time to react._

 _Her world went red._

Nureha shuddered awake with a gasp, grasping the front of her chest in pain and rolled onto her side, curling into a ball. Her heartbeat pounded in her sensitive ears and she flattened them against her head, whimpering. Her chest, specifically the space between the second and third rib on her left side, burned and throbbed in time with her heart. Nureha didn't want to consider what that meant.

A soft knock on her bedroom door interrupted her internal panic and Nureha forced herself to think past the pain.

"My Lady?" a maid called out, sounding worried, "Is everything alright in there?"

Nureha swallowed thickly and then almost choked as a ball of mucus got stuck in the back of her throat. For a second, a new kind of panic set it as she desperately tried to breath. Turning her head into her pillow she hacked softly, the mucus splattering up her throat and into her mouth. She spit as much as she could out before attempting to breathe in again. This time, cool air managed to make it through her throat despite the leftover sticky residue clinging to the sides.

"My Lady? Are you okay?" the voice had gained a slightly frightened edge. As it should. If anything happened to Nureha under her watch, the woman would face the wrath of Plant Hwyaden, and they were not known for their kindness toward anyone hurting their Lady.

Nureha cleared her throat one last time before responding, keeping as much of the pain from her voice as she could before she forced herself to sit up. "Do not trouble yourself over me," she commanded, "I am fine."

The maid hesitated, "Are you sure? I could-" the doorknob started to turn and Nureha snarled, causing the girl on the other side to squeak and freeze.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Nureha felt a hiss in the back of her throat tearing itself out of her mouth, "Get back to your duties. I am _fine."_

The maid seemed to hesitate before coming to a decision.

Between facing Plant Hwyaden in its entirety, or just their guild leader, she would take the guild any day.

As soon as she could no longer hear the maid, Nureha let herself collapse back onto the bed with a cough, gazing up at the ceiling.

 _That dream again . . ._

Nureha was not _unfamiliar_ with prophetic dreams or prompts. She'd been having them all her life, although they had never been _this_ intense before she'd become trapped inside of Elder Tales. In the beginning, it had started out as little things, like the feeling to take a different route home from school or what not to say to her father when he was in a bad mood. She hadn't really thought much about it . . . until it followed her into this world.

 _The flash of glasses, that charming,_ familiar _face . . ._

" _I can give you what you want more easily as a foe then as a friend." the words brought a flash of betrayal, even though she had heard them all before, even if she had been hoping to never hear them again, "I'll be your enemy, whenever you decide to find a reason."_

 _She smiled, crooked, slightly broken, but determined._

" _Now I want you even more, Shiroe-san," fate would_ not _draw her path for her. She_ would _find a way, no matter how many dreams, no matter how often they came true, "One day, you_ will _be mine."_

 _In a swirl of illusion magic and black feathers, she vanished._

" _See you soon, Shiroe-san!"_

And suddenly, it had no longer been just small nudges or feelings, is was so much _more._

Advanced illusion magic was not the only new skill that she had discovered upon arriving here, although _this_ one was a little more trouble than it was worth.

Like most legends and stories, even if she could see portions of the immediate future that did not mean she knew what was happening or the context behind it. Usually, it was just the flash of a smile, the edge of a blade, the haunting, echoing the words of the man she loved . . .

They also did not have to be completely literal, either.

 _The snake watching her from the shadows, grinning mockingly as it pulled gently at its nest of strings. Her body, strung up like a puppet, dancing to its tune._

 _The familiar voice, though she could not remember_ why _, hissing, "You can never escape us, little fox. You are too deep into the plan to back out now."_

Often, they would come too late to do anything. Interpreting a dream was just as hard as experiencing it. She could pick and pry at the details all she wanted, the blurry memories always managed to slip away from her except for a few important details. Often, she only remembered the full extent of the dream _after_ the event had occurred, and by then there was nothing she could do.

Like the Giant Moth incident.

Nureha shuddered as she pulled the covers up around her head. That whole thing had been an absolute _disaster._

This latest dream had struck her right after.

 _Chilling cold, twisting shadows, mocking smiles, fallen comrades, shattered concrete, wings . . ._

For two months, she'd been having the same dream. Not every night, of course, or she would look more like a panda than she already did, but at least once a week. And every time it was different. She could never remember the full details, but she did remember one thing.

 _Fear._

It permeated every bone in her body, leaving her cold and shaking.

 _Death._

Her death, the death of her friends. Shiroe.

 _Wings._

Four, glistening wings blocking out the light of the moon as the _monster_ hovered above her, the executioner they had never foreseen.

Even as she lay curled on her bed, contemplating the latest dream even as it once again began to disappear, Nureha couldn't help but wonder.

 _Is this truly our future?_

0~o~0

After sending his message to Asuna, Kirito had spent a few days waiting for a reply, even as his supplies dwindled and he was forced to forage for food. Thankfully, Asuna had forced him to level his cooking skill a little, otherwise he would have been forced to be satisfied with cold rations and hard, stale bread. He would never be the Chef that Asuna was, but he could make due in a pinch, and this was definitely a pinch. No way was he attempting human food again.

Now, if only he'd packed more salt.

After almost a week, however, Kirito had given up on getting a reply anytime soon.

 _She's probably busy, or the communications don't work the same this far away from Alfheim._

The assurances were weak and, frankly, the longer Kirito waited the deeper his stomach sank. But he couldn't afford to wait any longer. The ship that he had followed and made land several days before, and he couldn't risk these Adventurers knowing more about Alfheim then they knew about them.

So, a full week after he'd arrived, Kirito once again set off, this time going West and further inland. In SAO he'd spent a lot of time mapping out dungeons, exploring dangerous, unknown areas, and generally just keeping himself from getting killed. Since he didn't have a map here, and he didn't exactly want to go back into the town and attempt to buy one (money was still going to be a problem until he could get his hands on some of the local currency, and he wasn't sure if the monster drops counted since they were gold as well) he'd had to pull out and dust off some of those old skills.

Thankfully, he'd found that mapping out the land one this content was nowhere _near_ as dangerous as mapping out a dungeon in Aincrad. Sure, back there he'd had the constant threat of death hanging over his head, but even here he didn't want to chance his luck with the reincarnation function. He'd heard some strange stories from a few of the fairies that had gone through the process, and he had no desire to experience it for himself.

The fear of death aside, however, the most dangerous monster that he'd run into was probably the Giant Boar that had been in the center of the forest.

He'd had it for dinner his fourth night on the road. It was a little bland.

All in all, the whole journey had been underwhelming. He'd even taken a few hours just to vent his frustration on the local wolf packs after he'd been forced to venture into town to figure out which direction Akihabara was in. The people back at the port had mentioned Akihabara as being an 'Adventurer' city, and he was hoping to get a few answers there. Hopefully.

Venting his frustration had helped a little bit. Having the monsters in the forest start _running away_ at the site of his was new, though.

This wasn't like the game though, so maybe they had their own sense of self preservation. Who knows?

It took him almost three days to finally find the right road. By that point, he'd been irritated at himself for not just buying his own map, local currency or not, but the data would be helpful later, he was sure. Asuna would appreciate it, of course, and he'd made sure to travel through the areas without a lot of roads to be safe, which meant that most human maps would be useless anyway.

The longer he was away from Alfheim, however, the more depressed he felt.

 _I miss them._

Yui, Asuna, even Leafa and Klein. He missed their voices, their jokes, the camaraderie . . .

It was hard to believe that he was once the solo player that stayed solo for over seventy levels. A true solo, even if most of it had been forced isolation due to his outcast status back in SAO. Regardless, although he still often enjoyed playing solo, having people to watch his back and to look after in turn was nice. It brought a sense of camaraderie that he hadn't known he was missing.

And, because of that, he found it a little hard to adapt to the life of a solo player again.

It had been late into the third day when he finally made it to Akihabara, and Kirito couldn't help but sighed in relief as he saw the sign. WELCOME TO AKIHABARA was printed on the large wooden panel staked into the ground. The 'welcome' was missing the first couple of letters due to the moss and erosion, which was slowly eating away from the old sign.

Kirito eyed it warily as he stepped out of the dense forest. He had been following the road from the sky, traveling by wing at night and walking through the trees during the day. He'd also made sure to keep his hood up. Not interacting with other people seemed to help keep the _other_ in his head from acting up. The voices were near insatiable when he approached someone of a weaker level, and Kirito had made sure to keep his interactions at a minimum. It seemed to be helping, too.

That didn't mean he particularly wanted to test his newfound calm against other people, however. Especially a city of adventurers, who might or might not be as powerful as he was.

 _On the other hand, maybe facing someone stronger will dampen the thoughts as well,_ he contemplated.

Silently he shook his head and pulled his hood lower, eyes flicking over the empty road and the area beyond. Whether he wanted to or not, entering the city wasn't really an option at this point. He was here, and Asuna wanted to know what this new world they had been dropped in was like. He was not about to disappoint her by backing out.

With a heavy sigh and a more world weary gaze than usual, Kirito stepped beyond the sign and headed toward the towering buildings in the distance, examining the land around him as he went.

During his travels, the husks of old, overgrown buildings had become familiar. He'd explored a few of the ones he'd found deeper in the forests, and had found them startlingly similar to real world buildings from Japan. It was a little unnerving, honestly, to see what looked like parts of their original world scattered about and breaking down from time.

Sometimes Kirito wondered if this wasn't _their_ world . . . hundreds of years and a few world catastrophes in the future.

Even so, the broken, tilting, moss covered ruins were everywhere, if you knew what you were looking at. It was almost like an ancient civilization had just up and vanished, leaving the bones of their creations behind to loom over any who dared venture into their depths. He'd run into more than one trap in the ruins that he'd explored.

Regardless, these Adventurers seemed undaunted by the prospect, because their whole _city_ was apparently one of these ruins.

"Great," he tipped his head as he walked, and could almost _feel_ his inactive wings twitching under his cloak, "Just what I needed. People who think its a good idea to settle in a _ghost city._ "

And no, _this had nothing to do with Griselda's Ghost._ That didn't happen. Both he and Asuna agreed.

Still, better safe than sorry.

The city was also, irritatingly, _very far from its entrance sign._

Seriously, he must have walked at least a mile before he saw the first sign of life. An older man was sitting against a rock, puffing his pipe. Kirito paused a distance away and wrinkled his nose slightly. The acrid scent of the smoke was enough to keep him a good few paces from the pipe and the man smoking it. Even so, he let his eyes sweep over the other calculatingly.

Unlike the other people that he had encountered so far, who had all worn low grade weapons and clothing, this man was dressed more elaborately. A dull breastplate over good quality chainmail, and the leather tunic and pants would fend off lower level monster's teeth easily. The thing that caught his attention, however, was the long katana that rested at the man's side. The blade wasn't fancy, but it did look well used. The man's boots were also mud encrusted, showing his recent trek outside the city.

It was the grey hair and light wrinkles around the man's face that settled wrong with him. The clear effect of old age was not surprising, but rather felt _off-putting_ to Kirito, who had spent most of his time around fair skinned fairies who rarely showed signs of age.

Kirito narrowed his eyes.

 _Adventurer?_

The old man cracked one eye open, and then coughed politely as soon as he saw Kirito.

"Ah," the man said, pulling out his pipe and reaching for his pocket, "Hello, traveler. You new to Akihabara?" Kirito tensed, watching the man's hand warily. The other man paused, tracing Kirito's eyes, and then sighed, letting it rest in his lap instead, in full view. Kirito's gaze flickered upwards, calculating.

 _He's perceptive. That's_ dangerous. _I can't let him figure out what I am._

Forcing himself to relax his grip on one of the hidden picks strapped to his leg - _when had he reached for them? -_ Kirito calmly rested his hand on his hip. "Yes, this is my first time visiting," he hesitated before continuing, "Is it safe?"

The older man snorted and upturned his pipe, tapping the end so that the ashes fell out. He eyed Kirito calmly, and seemed to come to some kind of decision as he nodded carefully. "Aye. This here city is probably one of the better ones in Elder Tales. Can't say much for Minami or the south, they've been real quiet," here he eyed Kirito critically before continuing, "but rumors from Susukino don't really paint a pretty picture." He put the pipe back in his mouth and chewed the end slightly, "PK players running rampant all over the country up there. Not a lot of friendly faces."

Kirito eyed his critically. _He's fishing for something._

After a moment of silence, the man shrugged, "Ah am not really one to judge, but be careful with those twitchy fingers. Ya may be used to the road, but here in Akihabara, Player Killing isn't taken lightly."

Blinking slowly, Kirito contemplated that statement, and the information he'd been given.

 _The Adventurers are not completely united. There are at least three_ cities _of them, and they all have different, unstated goals._ Kirito narrowed his eyes, _The human probably thinks I am from one of the other cities, likely Susukino, by his suggestions._

 _So, how do I play this?_

"What about Akihabara?" Kirito finally settled on, "Why is it so different?"

He expected anything from confusion, to the man outright admitting that he had no idea.

He didn't expect laugher.

Kirito jumped slightly as the man let out a huge, booming laugh, much larger than one would expect from someone so skinny. "Hahaha, kid, have you been living under a rock?"

 _Kill him._

Kirito coughed to cover up his immediate flinch toward his weapons at the loud noise and turned his head away, forcing his heart rate down to normal levels from where it had spiked. He licked his lips.

 _I have no idea how powerful he is. I am not risking a fight this close to the city._

 _He's_ _ **dangerous.**_ The thoughts bubbled back up after so long of being dormant, but they weren't that strong, not yet, more like faint whispers that were easy enough to push down and squash.

 _He_ could _be dangerous. That's why I am not taking chances._

Kirito cleared his throat and shrugged a shoulder, "Well, I guess you might say that."

Then man's laughter died down after a few moments and he wiped away a few tears, "Sorry, kid. It's just been a long time since I have met someone who _hasn't_ heard about what happened to Akihabara."

Kirito's eyes sharpened. _A long time? Just how long have they been here?_

The man continued, "By the Fates, I wouldn't be surprised if word hasn't spread beyond the Yamato server by this point. That Villian in Glasses is a terror when he really gets started."

 _Villian in Glasses._

The intruding thoughts suddenly fell silent as Kirito felt his own curiosity spike.

 _Where have I heard that name before?_

"The Villain in Glasses?" Kirito asked calmly, shifting slightly. With a name like that, what kind of person was the old man talking about? "Sounds a little ominous."

The old man snorted again, "Word of advice, kid, you ever meet the guy, run the other way. He's _terrifying._ That half-Alv Enchanter took the entire city hostage once to get everyone in line, set up a ruling council, and kicked the dark guilds out before anyone even realized what was going on. All at the same time."

Kirito should have been _very_ worried about that last part. Someone with the intelligence to pull off taking over a city and becoming a shadow leader was someone to be wary of. He _should_ have been worried. He _would_ have been worried.

If it weren't for the fact that his mind had frozen after _half-Alf._ Sure, the pronunciation was a little off, but that could be due to the man's accent.

 _One of us?_ The thought churned in the back of his head, confused, stunned, curious. _Not human?_

"Half-Alf?" He must have spoken out loud because the man nodded and waved his pipe through the air.

"Yeah, pointy ears and everything. Not quite as pointed as an elfs, but his real distinguishing feature is his glasses. They say that when he's plotting, he pushes his glasses up. If you aren't half way out of Akihabara when he does it, you're already too late."

Kirito forced himself not to reach for his own ears as he contemplated what the other man had said, curiosity filling him.

 _Maybe . . . maybe there was a reason that we were brought here after all._

Alfs were rare, so rare that there was literally only _one_ in existence in Alfheim. Asuna was the only confirmed Alf, though it was anyone's guess if there were more, the great tree was still locked, and as of when he left, there were no plans for a raid on it.

But if there were Alfs _here . . ._

His eyes narrowed.

 _I need to find him._

Outwardly, Kirito simply nodded. "I will take your advice into consideration, thank you."

The man nodded. "Good luck to you too, young traveler. I hope you find what you are looking for."

Kirito nodded, and they both gave their goodbyes as Kirito turned away and continued his walk into town. He passed several other people as he went, either heading into the city or venturing out of it for some late night hunting. Kirito kept his head down, mind spinning as he walked. The voice had been suspiciously silent since he'd left the old man behind. It was almost unnerving how quiet his own thoughts were, with the voice having hovered at the edge of his conscious mind for the last for weeks.

Honestly, he had no idea what he would do with the knowledge that there were _Alfs_ here, because that changed _everything._

 _If the flavor text of this world and our world are actually linked in some way . . . it would change everything that we know._

There was also the sheer _power_ that an Alf held at their fingertips. He could practically _taste_ Asuna's magic when she really let loose, and those were only the low level spells that her race automatically granted her. If there were Alfs here . . . who was to say they were no less powerful?

And if this _Villian in Glasses_ is truly as powerful as everyone seems to think he is . . . then starting a war against the land he ruled would lead to disaster.

 _Alfs are meant to be leaders, rulers, dictators. Their power is the heart of the very fairy realms. If there is one here, in Akihabara . . . then this isn't just some Adventurer city. It's a fairies_ domain. _And we protect what is ours, to the last breath._

If they went to war with each other . . . it would be total annihilation. Kirito was suddenly very aware that he was basically acting as a _diploma_ to a _forgin king._

 _Oh_ Kayaba, he mentally groaned, _I am_ not _the person you would send as a diplomat._

He was so deep inside of his own thoughts, that he didn't even realize that he was inside of the city until he literally almost tripped over a little purple blur that sped by him. He managed to jerk back just in time to avoid full collision. The blur, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. They caught themselves on Kirito's outstretched leg before he could pull completely back and he felt a slight jerk as the other was sent face first toward the ground.

The figure, thankfully, managed to catch themselves in a forward flip, twisting mid air and coming down in crouch. _Her_ hair spun around in a ribbon of dark strands before settling into place on her back and held together in a high ponytail. One of her gloved hands was resting on the handle of her sword, a short katana, but didn't have it drawn. The other looked like it could twitch toward the pouch on her hand at any moment. No doubt it held more weapons in it as well. Her face, however, was a deep red, as if she had been blushing recently. Or maybe sunburned.

They stood in silence, seizing each other up but not moving. It wasn't until Kirito realized that he had fallen into a battle stance as well, and partly un-latched his sword from its sheath, that he figured out _why_ she was acting so wary of him. He felt a light flush spread over his cheeks in embarrassment. _How_ many times was this going to happen to him? His 'kill first, ask questions later' was going to get him in trouble.

Coughing, he straightened, absolutely noting that the other girl was _short._ Like, Kirito wasn't someone who prided himself on his height. In fact, he was fairly short for his age, but this girl barely came up to his collarbone.

 _Just because she is small, doesn't mean she can't kill me. Size does not equal power._

She relaxed as well, and her flush came back as she realized he wasn't about to attack. The people around him who had stopped to watch grumbled slightly and left. Kirito rubbed the back of his head, but didn't stick out his hand. He remembered what happened _last_ time, and honestly one look at her hands and he could already tell that they were calloused. He was already feeling twitchy being around so many _humans._

Except, Kirito realized suddenly, not everyone _was_ human. His eyes flickered around for the first time, landing on several people with animal features or traits. One man in the corner of the street even had long ears. _Extremely_ long ears.

 _Elf?_ He swallowed thickly and glanced in another direction, landing on what looked like a young man with wolf ears and a tail wandering down the street.

 _Not . . . human._

 _The Adventurers are . . . not human? Mostly human? Somewhat human?_

His gaze was jerked back to the girl as she cleared her throat and fell into a sudden bow, not too far, just a hint of respect by Japanese standards. He startled slightly as she spoke.

"I apologize for almost knocking you over. My name is Akatsuki, and I am My Lord's ninja," she glanced up, "Are you injured at all, Adventurer-san?"

Kirito stared blankly for a second, still dazed, and then realized what she had asked. His eyes widening, he shook his head quickly. "It's no problem, really." He said and waved his hand dismissively, "I wasn't really paying attention, and I wasn't really hurt, either."

She blinked slowly, and then dragged her eyes over his cloak skeptically. It wasn't anything fancy, nothing like what a lot of the Adventurers were wearing, but it did give a boost to his hiding skills, which is why he'd equipped it. To another gamer, however, it gave no sign of being a high level artifact. In fact, it looked more like a plain black cloak, maybe something a low level player would wear. And low level players tended to be really squishy to a high level player.

 _Oh._

Thankfully she didn't comment on it, and instead stood straight, tilting her head and then glancing up at the slightly darkening sky. After a second, she sighed. "As an apology, how about I buy you a meal?" she scanned him again, "You look like your new to Akihabara."

Kirito almost grimaced. The thought of tasting that ash that he'd had back in the port town again was . . . _very unappealing_.

She smirked, as if reading his thoughts thought his expression. Maybe she was. "Don't worry. My Lord has found a solution to the tasteless food. As My Lord's ninja, I know all the best places around Akihabara to eat."

Kirito started. They'd found a solution to the _food?_

 _They thought it tasted awful as well?_

Kirito swallowed, thickly. As much as he hated to interact with the locals more than necessary, a real meal would be _amazing._

He hesitated for a moment before nodding and giving a slight bow back. "That would be greatly appreciated."

She smiled but there was a slightly calculating edge to it. Kirito eyed her, just as much as she was eyeing her.

 _She doesn't trust me._

Good, she shouldn't. He didn't trust her either. Theirs was a bond of mutual distrust.

"My name is Kirito. Would you care to lead the way?"

Akatsuki nodded and turned, gesturing for him to follow. He silently noted that she kept an eye on him as she fell back to walk beside him, but not too close. Mentally going over his interactly with her, he quietly began to list out her quirks and traits. It was always good to know how a possible opponent thought.

 _She's quick on her feet, and most likely powerful. Her weapons are good quality._ Really _good quality. So, either a powerful benefactor, or she earned it herself. She has someone she refers to as 'My Lord'. A role player? Or does she really believe-_

 _Wait, did she call herself a_ Ninja?

Kirito almost stumbled. In Alfheim, your race determined what kind of magic you used. He glanced at his newest companion from the corner of his eyes. This was a different land, a different culture, with different _rules._

In Alfheim, there were no Classes, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of them before he'd ventured into its skies. He _had_ played other games.

Just because Alfheim didn't have Classes, didn't mean that _this place_ didn't.

 _How curious._

He carefully turned his attention forward as they walked, thoughtful but wary. Ninja's were assassins at heart. He didn't take that lightly.

 _I wonder,_ he glanced up at the horizon as a stiff wind swept through, watching as dark clouds rumbled in the distance, _Just how different are our two worlds?_

 _And . . . what do we have in common?_

 **0~o~0**

 **I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. There were probably a few mistakes (there always are), because I typed this all in one night and I am too tired to go through it again. Please let me know what you are thinking!**

 **Next Chapter**

 _ **Origins**_

 **(Updated: 9/9/2019)**


	9. A Ninja, A Solo, and An Enchanter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or Log Horizon. I am not earning anything from creating and posting this. All rights and privileges belong to the original creators and associated companies/studios. I** _ **do not**_ **give permission for this to be posted anywhere other than Fanfcition . net. If I see it on** _ **any**_ **paid site, I** _ **will**_ **take this down. Do Not Copy.**

 **Sorry, I had to put this up before I posted any other stories. While I have not personally seen my stuff posted to other sites yet, there was an author I was following that had it happen to them. For several days I seriously considered pulling all of my stories from Fanfiction as a precaution. I do not write Fanfiction for money, and I do not earn anything from posting other than your own reviews. Again, if you see my stories** _ **anywhere else,**_ **please let me know.**

 **So, now that that is out of the way, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 9**

 _ **A Ninja, A Solo, and An Enchanter**_

Akatsuki was her Lord's loyal ninja. She was his guard, his blade, and his assassin. As his most trusted confident, Akatsuki was entrusted with making sure that her Lord's plans unveiled with perfection, nudging the pieces into place until everything worked the way that he instructed.

And watching it happen was like watching a typhoon strike land. It was _brilliant_.

He was brilliant. She could not have picked a better Lord to follow.

As her Lord's ninja, she was prepared to answer his call at any moment without question. She was prepared to do _anything_. It didn't matter if it was assassination, scouting, or simply just acting as his loyal shadow.

She was her Lord's loyal ninja! Her loyalty knew no bounds, was restrained by no limits! She would _and had_ followed him to _death_ and back!

For him she would even wear a k-

She choked.

A k-k-kim-

 _I am my Lord's loyal ninja! If he asks me, I would do anything._

Yes. That's right. She _would!_ She would go out and buy the prettiest, softest, purplest kimon-

Akatsuki, cheeks flushed and running at her top speed through the crowded streets of Akihabara, _tripped._

With a squak of surprise, Akatuski threw herself into a roll, pulling out her sword and spinning around as soon as she managed to get her feet under her again. She was a ninja, a warrior so skilled and sure footed that she never lacked for balance. Even distracted, it would take another master of the ninja arts to even _think_ about harming her. And yet . . .

Once her vision settled and her heartbeat wasn't drowning out all of the sound around her, Akatsuki focused on the figure across from her, taking in her opponent.

. . . The boy blinked slowly and tilted his head downward slightly. His hood and cloak disguised most of his distinguishing features, but Akatsuki could still tell that he was youthful.

 _And skilled._

She eyed the carefully hidden hand under the folds of his cloak, which carefully hid the glint of what looked like long needles. Akatsuki couldn't be sure, but they looked like senbon needles, though she had yet to really encounter any in the game. She only knew about them because she had done research into ninjas from their original world, but there had been no option for them in Elder Tales.

The hidden weapons were helpfully disguised however, by the movement of his other hand, which lightly held the handle of a dark sword strapped over his shoulder. It wasn't pulled completely from the sheath yet, but the threat was obvious.

Akatsuki . . . found herself intrigued. And worried.

If she had been _anyone_ else, she would not have recognized him for what he was: an Assassin. It was well hidden under the tattered cloak and light, almost non-existent armor, but his movements were not that of the samurai his sword said he was. He was _too_ aware, _too_ wary, and he didn't rely on only the sword.

Now, it wasn't like Assassins were really looked down upon in Akihabara. It was just a class, and Akatsuki herself prided herself in her mastery over her weapons. No matter the stereotype that came with the title, it wasn't something that needed to be hidden in Akihabara.

So, why was this assassin wandering around in Akihabara pretending to be something that he wasn't?

Despite her previous distraction _,_ Akasuki found this stranger . . . _curious._ Curious, and slightly worried. She couldn't put her finger on it, but her instincts were screaming at her that this man was _dangerous._

 _Is he a danger to Lord Shiroe?_

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she saw his eyes dart around, but relaxed when he very carefully let go of the sword handle and settled into a more relaxed stance with a slight cough. She had seen the brief flicker of confusion before it happened, but it was disguised well. He was an _excellent_ assassin, that was for sure, both in blending in and in emotional control.

Akatsuki wavered for a moment, silently debating over whether or not to let go of her weapon. On one hand, her training and instincts were telling her to not take her eyes off of this _predator._ On the other, it was against an adventurers code of honor to fight an unarmed fellow adventurer. Not that it stopped some of the dark guilds, but Akatuski was a proud ninja and her code was law.

And so, with slight reluctance, she slipped the blade back into its place and let go of the handle. Then, with the grace of a true ninja, she folded one arm in front of her and bowed her head just enough to be polite.

"I apologize for almost knocking you over," Akatuski began, carefully watching the figure across from her, "My name is Akatsuki, and I am My Lord's ninja," she tilted her head slightly as she lifted herself from her bow, "Are you injured at all, Adventurer-san?"

The man blinked slowly, and then realization flooded his eyes and they darted down to his clothing briefly. He turned his gaze to her and gave a small, sheepish smile. "It's no problem, really." He replied and waved his hand dismissively, "I wasn't really paying attention, and I wasn't hurt, either."

Akatsuki frowned and glanced down at the leg that she had tripped over. He was putting weight on each leg equally, so he must have been telling the truth (or really good at hiding his own pain).

Even so, his slightly tattered equipment pointed itself to him not having enough to buy new, improved gear, which would often mean that his levels weren't high enough to equip that gear. Even so, Akatsuki couldn't help but feel there was something _off_ about the whole situation.

 _He's not hurt._

 _He . . . should be hurt? Even with my size, I can flip people off their feet if I am going fast enough._

Which meant one of two things. Either he was really good at hiding his own pain . . . or he was at least level 80. Either way, his low level clothing worked well to disguise his skill level.

Even if it was considered rude to look at someone's skill level without permission, Akatsuki couldn't help but shoot a quick glance over the others head where the series of numbers and letters designated each adventurer and their rank. There, her gaze paused and narrowed.

His display . . . it was blurry. Not corrupted, like Shiroe had described from the infected players in the West, just . . . unreadable. As if the words were constantly shifting and _just_ out of sight. She had never encountered anything like it, but she had heard stories of high level items that could temporarily hide someone's identity from other players.

 _So . . . definitely hiding something. But should I say anything, or just let him be? Technically, he hasn't done anything wrong. Yet._

 _But can I trust that he doesn't have bad intentions for my Lord? Lord Shiroe always manages to run into trouble somehow, and this one stinks of it._

Akatsuki carefully kept her face schooled into one of cool indifference as she straightened and glanced up at the sky. From the deepening purple that was mixing in with the sky, it looked like it was going to be dark soon. The shops would be closing in a few hours if she didn't hurry, and Lord Shiroe _had_ wanted her to buy a kimo - a _kimon -_

"As an apology, how about I buy you a meal?" the words slipped out of Akatsuki's mouth before she could stop them. _Surely, keeping an eye on this stranger is more important than buying a_ dress, _right? I am sure that My Lord will understand._ "You look like your new to Akihabara."

Surprisingly, his face broke from its impassive mask to twist into an unpleasant grimace as his eyes shot to one of the food stalls run by the People of the Land. The shopkeeper looked bored, and the small stall itself was almost completely empty except for a few Adventurers buying up the raw ingredients. Anything already cooked remained untouched.

Akatsuki followed his gaze and realization struck her with a chuckle. Smirking slightly, she tilted her head and spoke, "Don't worry. My Lord has found a solution to the tasteless food. As My Lord's ninja, I know all the best places around Akihabara to eat."

If there was one thing her Lord had taught her in the last year, it was that food was a powerful motivator for any adventurer. Still, where had he been for the last year if he didn't even know about the _food_ hack? That was one of the first things that Shiroe had made public once he'd secured his position in Akihabara.

The boy startled at her words and his gaze snapped back to her. His eyes were slightly wider than before. Akatsuki could almost hear the ' _Wait,_ really?" that went unsaid as he blinked slowly at her.

Seriously, where has this guy _been_ for the past twelve months?

There was disbelief and hesitance in his gaze, as if he couldn't really comprehend what she was offering. Which made sense, if he had been eating the systems auto generated food for the past few months.

He hesitated for a moment before nodding and giving a slight bow back. "That would be greatly appreciated."

Akatsuki couldn't help but smirk again as she watched his movements. The light shift of a foot, the way that he always angled himself slightly so that he would be able to fight or run at the slightest hint of danger . . . _yeah,_ she wasn't letting him out of her sight until she knew _exactly_ what he was after in Akihabara.

He tilted his head down slightly as he continued, "My name is Kirito. Would you care to lead the way?"

 _Kirito, huh? I haven't heard a handle like that, before. He must like to keep himself off of the radar._

Akatsuki nodded and they fell into silence as she took up a position walking a distance to his left. No way was she leaving her back open to another assassin, and he had no idea how he would react if she tried to get behind him.

Seriously, dealing with a fellow assassin was hard. None of the other classes really understood. Sure, it was fine around a coven of assassins that you trusted, but actually _finding_ another assassin was generally a daunting task. The other classes of Elder Tales had always been more popular, more flashy, and while there _were_ assassins, they tended to be few and far between.

Because of this separation, there was a kind of _instinctive_ divide between fellow assassins. A sense of _I will trust you to stab a knife in my back the moment our interests oppose each other._ Kind of like loyalty among thieves, but instead it was assassins.

The other classes didn't have this problem. Every guild needed their tank, their healer, and their heavy hitters. A magic user was also appreciated. But an assassin? Well, they were invaluable players, but it was also really hard to gain their loyalty. A high level assassin especially.

So, no matter how much of a surprise it was to literally _trip over a fellow assassin,_ Akatsuki wasn't going to take any chances.

"So," Akatsuki tucked her arms behind her back, within easy reach of her swords, "what brings you to Akihabara?"

The boy next to her stiffened before forcefully relaxing again and shrugging one shoulder. "I heard some interesting rumors from this direction, and decided to check it out."

Akatsuki's eyes flickered toward him. "Interesting rumors?"

 _They had better not be saying those awful things about My Lord again, or my blade is going to taste vengeance._

He shrugged lightly, "Giant Moths?"

Akatsuki flushed.

 _Ah, yeah. I forgot about that._

Even if it had only been a month or two since the attack, it was still probably the biggest event to have happened since the Apocalypse itself, affecting the entire Yamamoto server. _Everyone_ wanted to know what had happened, and _what_ they had found afterwards. At some point, word had gotten out that Akihabara had been the source of the attack, and adventurers had either turned tail and ran, or took up arms and came _too_ Akihabara.

A city turned raid dungeon wasn't something that anyone wanted, but there were a few thrill seekers that wondered if it might happen again. Not to mention, Akihabara was the center of _way_ to many odd happenings for it to just be a coincidence. Akatsuki would stick by her Lord, no matter where he decided to go.

Even so . . . a lone assassin coming just because of the moth attack was a little suspicious. While an assassin _could_ level up by fighting monsters, they were also specializes in _other_ areas.

Such as player killing.

One could never be too careful around assassins.

Akatsuki huffed slightly and sent a glare toward the boy, "I don't care what anyone else says, that was a freak accident. How were we supposed to know that the monster would _mutate_ and create an army?"

The adventurer paused, "Uh, the monster _mutated?_ Do you mean in _evolved?_ "

Akatsuki rolled her eyes, "Doesn't really matter. It looked like a gross old man that could morph into a giant killer papa moth. What more needs to be said?"

The Adventurer blinked and then shuddered, "It's gone?"

Akatsuki nodded, "My Lord lead a raid on it. It's definitely gone."

The Adventurer, Kirito, frowned, "If it happened once, do you think that it might happen again?"

 _Yes._ Akatsuki kept herself from shuddering as she considered the possibilities. _If there are more monsters like_ that one _out there . . . it's definitely a possibility._

"My Lord is working on the possibility," Akatsuki said instead, and then swung an arm out toward her left, "And we are here, by the way."

Kirito startled slightly and then squinted up at the name of the small outdoor cafe. "The . . . _Samurai's Sword?"_ he glanced down at her skeptically.

Akatsuki shrugged and pulled the curtain over the doorway open, "I have seen worse, and it tastes better than you might think."

There weren't too many people in the outdoor cafe. Most of the Adventurers that had gone out to fight wouldn't be back until after sundown, and the dinner rush had already calmed down. Small lanterns were being lit by a short Wolf Fang girl in dark red as she dashed around the small sitting area.

Akatsuki and her fellow assassin both carefully selected a table in the corner of the establishment. She let him sit facing the door, since she figured he would be more comfortable knowing exactly who came through the door. She was well known enough here that she trusted that anyone willing to take a shot at her open back would be tackled before they could attempt.

The server slipped over to their table, another softly smiling Wolf Fang. Akatsuki picked her favorite dish, and then turned her attention to her companion.

Kirito hesitated, looking down at the long menu laid out in front of him, and then back up to Akatsuki with narrowed eyes. After a moment he shrugged slightly and spoke up. "I'll try the smoked fish," he whispered softly, and the server nodded as he scribbled down the order.

"I will be out with your order in a moment," the Wolf Fang said with a smile and stepped away from the table.

Akatsuki nodded and then leaned forward on the table, examining her companion. The other twitched slightly and she narrowed her eyes. "So," she began, "Was it _just_ the rumors that brought your here?"

The Adventurer stiffened again, his face going cold, "I came because I heard about the rumors. Anything else is personal."

"Ah," Akatsuki nodded and backed off slightly. Best not to press him too hard. Akihabara didn't prevent fighting _inside_ of the city anymore. It was both a curse and a blessing, in some ways.

Thankfully, the server returning with two plates of food was enough to break the tension and Akatsuki eager pulled her dish of fried chicken and potatoes toward herself. Kirito was more cautious, picking at the fish with his fork before carefully nudging a small piece away from the rest and lifting it toward his face. He glared at it for a few minutes with distrust and then sucked in a deep breath before popping it in his mouth.

Akatsuki paused and glanced up, eager to see his expression. She wasn't disappointed.

Kirito's eyes widened in shock and he froze for a second as he glanced down at his plate. He chewed slowly and then swallowed before reaching for another piece.

Akatsuki grinned, "What do you think?"

Kirito twitched and his eyes darted back to her. She was actually surprised that he wasn't shoveling the whole plate into his mouth at this point, honestly. He was silent for several seconds, tilting his fork back and forth with consideration. Finally, he seemed to settle on an answer.

"It's not as good as my wife's cooking, but much better than anything I have tasted since arriving here."

Akatsuki's mind blanked for a moment.

 _Wife?_

 _But . . . he can't be older than eighteen! Tops!_

 _I mean, sure, I guess he's just older than he looks, but come on! I am over twenty, and do you know how hard I have to work to even get My Lord to_ notice me? _How did this pipsqueak-_

"Akatsuki?" a confused voice from the entrance of the shop made the tiny ninja freeze in horror. Slowly, she turned around to face the entrance, and her eyes fell on the _last_ person she expected to be out at this hour. "What are you doing here?"

Akatsuki went pail, and then red, before settling on a light pink, "Ah - ah- My Lord!" she leaped from her seat and bowed, "You should have told me that you were going to leave the guild! I am your loyal ninja and it is my job to make sure that you are safe at all times! I would have come with your if you had only asked."

She glanced up at Shiroe with her sternest expression. Didn't he _know_ how often she cut down his enemies before they reached him? Every time he stepped outside of the guild house he was in danger of some jealous adventurer who would _gladly_ take a shot at the infamous Villain in Glasses if they had the chance. And it wasn't only them, either. There were also all those dastardly women with their wiles who tried to sneak just close enough to - !

"Akatsuki," she froze at his suddenly monotone voice cut across her thoughts. His face had fallen blank, but it wasn't _her_ he was looking at. No, his gaze had settled somewhere over her shoulder, toward the back of the restaurant . . . "Who is your companion?"

Slowly, she turned and looked behind her.

Kirito, the assassin that she had met just a short hour before, had an equally blank face. His chair was forced back against the wall, and his fingers were twitching where they hung at his sides. He stood so stiffly that Akatsuki wouldn't have been surprised if his muscles had locked up. At the table, the half eaten plate of fish lay abandoned.

A wind picked up slightly, and the hood of Kirito's hood fluttered. This time, he didn't reach up to tug it back down and the breeze plucked at the rim and pulled it back over his dark head of hair. For the first time since meeting him, Akatsuki saw his full face.

Grey, calculating eyes, so cold they could have been made of ice looked out at them from beneath midnight black hair. And between the spiked tufts, Akatsuki could just see the ever so slight point at the tip of his ear. For someone else it might have been hard to tell the difference, but Akatsuki knew, without a shadow of a doubt.

Another half-Alv.

For a second there was complete silence, and then Kirito tipped his head forward slightly, eyes never leaving Shiroe's own.

"Hello, Lord Shiroe of Akihabara," he murmured respectfully, "My Queen sends her regards," he straightened, "I have been waiting for you."

Akatsuki felt a shiver go down her spine. Her mind was still blank, trying to process what was going on. The very air around her almost seem to be pressing down on her small shoulders and it felt like time itself had halted for this brief moment.

Kirito straightened, and the set to his shoulders was determined, "My name is Kirito," his eyes flashed, "and we have much to discuss."

Shiroe was silent for a moment before he nodded, face still chillingly blank. Akatsuki had _never_ seen that expression in her Lord's face before.

"Indeed," Shiroe said coldly, his glasses slipping down slightly to reveal his own calculating gaze, "We do."

Akatsuki . . . felt _very lost._

 _What in the world is going on?_

0~o~0

Regan hummed softly to himself as he puttered about his archive, digging through ancient, dusty records. That machine that Lord Shiroe had found after the monster attack had been so _fascinating._ Yet another piece of history lost after the fall of the Alvs so many years ago. He'd hoped to find some kind of record about it in his archives, now that he knew what he was looking for. He may have been around for quite some time, but even he hadn't read all of the information stored in his archive.

Truly, the outside world was such a _fascinating_ place. Who knew that he could learn so much just by accompanying the great Lord Shiroe on a few of his grand adventures?

The half-Alv himself was like a relic of the distant past. Although half-Alvs were not as uncommon as their Alf ancestors, Lord Shiroe was probably one of the last to truly have the _spiritual_ link back to his roots that the others lacked. See, even if half-Alvs were _called_ half-Alvs, it might be more accurate to say that they were more like a fourth or eighth generation half-Alv. In other words, although the features remained the same, it couldn't be said the same for the _blood_.

Alvs, beyond being technologically advanced, had just had this _presence,_ according to the ancient scripts. They were natural leaders, politicians, and warriors who paved the way forward for _generations_. If they hadn't been wiped out, chances are the face of the world would be _very different._

Lord Shiroe had that same presence. The desire to follow his lead, to learn from him, and to flock to his protection, it radiated from his every step. He was closer to being a _full_ Alv than any other half-Alv in existence. Regan doubted that even the other members of his guild realized what that _pull_ meant, but he wasn't going to interfere. This was something that Lord Shiroe had to figure out on his own.

That didn't mean that Regan couldn't research it, however.

Regan squinted at the latest scroll that he had pulled down from the archive and beckoned the green fae light closer so that it could illuminate the ancient script.

" _Like the shadow of death, the spell swept through the land, and any who saw its face fell to the earth . . ."_

" _. . . The seven witches were bound with the ritual of everlasting servitude . . ."_

Regan sighed and shut the book. Really, it was like he was reading the same thing over and over again. _Somewhere_ in this giant library there had to be something on the Alvs before their fall, surely? Beyond the vague references and their crumbling cities, they must have left _something_ behind. Regan stood and plucked the book up from the table to return it to the shelf.

The fae lights followed him as he ventured between the narrow shelves that seemed to stretch forever in each direction. He had spent almost his whole life down here, but even he had yet to see the entire archive.

Finally finding the open slot where he had pulled the book from, Regan let it slide back into place, disrupting a small puff of dust and killer dust-bunnies. He gazed forlornly at the shelf and then shook his head and rubbed his slightly reddening eyes. How many hours had he been awake combing just this shelf alone? Ten hours? Twenty? He wouldn't be surprised if it was two or three days, to be honest.

One of the fae lights hovering around him drifted a little farther down the tunnel, pulsing curiously. It seemed to hesitate, flickering back toward its master and then to the tunnel. When the researcher failed to notice, the light gave a slight pulse and then darted away down the corridor.

Regan startled slightly as she saw something zip away further down the corridor and he groaned as he counted one less fae light than he had created. With a sigh he walked after it, deeper into the archives.

Seriously, for something made entirely out of magic, those fae light sure had a mind of their own, sometimes.

Regan followed the soft pulse of magic as it pulled further and further away. At some point it would hit a dead end, and Regan would scold it for drifting. Who knew what kind of magic eating artifacts could be stored away down here? He would rather not risk accidentally activating something that shouldn't be activated.

Almost ten minutes later, Regan's frown deepened as he came to a stop. The fae light was still a good distance ahead, but it had finally come to a stop. It wasn't what was making Regan hesitate, however.

The dust around his boots was several centimeters deep, making the entire floor look like it was rippling slightly as he disturbed the air around it. Behind him, there was a clear trail where his thick boots had shifted the dust from his resting place.

No one had been to this part of the archive for . . . a _very_ long time.

Regan had always been _very_ good a sensing both active a latent magic. It was one of the reasons that he was chosen as the next researcher. He'd always been sensitive to the magical currents and the flow of ley lines beneath the earth. It was why he'd known the moment that Lord Shiroe had cast a World Fraction, a Global Level Spell, a spell that defied reality itself.

It's why he knew that there was _something different_ about this corridor in comparison to the others that he had been wandering through. There was a pulse of latent magic lining the stones beneath his feet. It was so quiet that he almost hadn't noticed it. _Almost._

Shifting, he knelt on the ground, uncaring about how his white cloak picked up grey dust. Carefully, he tugged off one glove and then swept his hand through the dust, unveiling the ancient stones beneath. For a few moments he traced the edges of the cracks in the stones with a frown before his eyes widened.

"A concealing ruin?" Regan murmured in awe, "What are you trying to hide?"

It was old, and weak. It had probably been centuries since this seal have been renewed, which meant that it was about to break. All it would take was a gentle _nudge -_

Regan stood and stepped back about three feet. Hovering a hand in front of him, he began to chant softly, sefusing the air with magic as he directed his intent down into the earth. Slowly, the ground lit up with a pale green glow that grew brighter the longer he chanted. At first it started as a small circle just beyond his feet, but within seconds strands of light shot out in each direction. Curling and twisting lines expanded, contracted, and pulsed as the scope of the seal grew larger, much larger than Regan was expecting.

Sweat began to pour down his face as he continued to chant. If he didn't do this correctly the first time, there was a chance that the seal would take the energy he was pouring into it and completely lock down for a few more hundred years.

The glow was brightening to almost blinding levels at this point, and Regan could feel his magic lowering at drastic levels.

The seal must have been a _monster_ when it was at full strength. He could feel it fighting against him, even in its weakened form. Another sorcerer might have collapsed by this point from magic backlash.

But Regan wasn't just another sorcerer, and the promise of hidden knowledge _irked_ him.

With a final push, his magic finally managed to sever a weak point in the seal, and the whole thing collapsed inward. Regan threw his arms in front of his face as dust and musty air blew around him, picking up dust and other unmentionables and hurtling them past him. After a few minutes the wind died down and Regan coughed slightly as he lowered his arms. He lifted his hands to rub at his eyes, but paused when he noticed their very _grey_ coloring.

Ah, dust. He really should learn some cleaning spells.

Regan let his arms fall back down as he glanced around him. The corridor looked unchanged, to his disappointment, except that most of the dust had been swept away in the tiny windstorm. Slowly he blinked and looked around, trying to find _something_ that had changed.

He almost didn't notice it.

One of the bookshelves on his left was ever so slightly angled outward.

Frowning, he carefully gripped one of the shelves and gently pulled. For a second the shelf resisted, and then gave a groan as it gave in and began to swing outward from a hidden hinge. Regan's eyes widened as he let go and the shelf swung the rest of the way out from the wall.

"Well," he murmured, blinking slowly at the dark staircase leading down into the dark depths of a _hidden_ section of the archive, "Someone _really_ didn't want you found."

He glanced back the way he came, and then to where he could still feel a single fae light pulsing. For a second he hesitated. Should he risk going down alone? The fae light probably wouldn't cause any trouble. Probably.

He wavered for a few seconds before sighing. Regan had never been able to resist a secret before. Directing his remaining fae lights in front of him, Regan began to descend the windowless staircase.

Seconds turned into minutes as he quickly lost sight of the main corridor. The air tasted stale, and almost seemed to be growing _colder_ as he moved downward. The magic around him was strangely still, as well, as if it were also holding its breath for _something._

The leading fae light flickered suddenly as the walls on either side vanished. Regan paused as he stepped off the last step and through what looked like a carved doorway without a door. His remaining three fae lights huddled together, as if they were afraid to get too far from each other. Their light barely covered the entrance and a few meters of floor around them.

Regan walked toward them, feeling his curiosity spike. The archive was a cramped, dusty place, but this area was way too _open_ , and there wasn't a speck of dust to be seen.

His foot nudged a slightly darkened section of rock on the ground, and Regan jumped slightly as his already depleted magic gave a sharp jerk. He gasped and stumbled, but managed to keep himself upright as light flared out from his feet and swept through the room, lighting it up not unlike the seal had just minutes before. His eyes widened in awe as he saw lines of light spreading of stone and wood as it crept up walls, spilled over stalactites, and dripped down into a giant basin in the center of the round chamber.

It was _huge_.

The room towered above his head and he could see faint lines of light flickering behind giant rocks that hung down like swords. In the center of the room the basin flickered once, twice, and then with a roar flames leapt up from its depths. The flames were almost white, with flickers of his own green.

The basin and the ceiling didn't hold his attention for long, however.

Lines of light spiraled and dove in and out of rock, lighting up certain sections and leaving others dark, but Regan couldn't help but feel his breath freeze in awe.

On the far wall from the entrance a giant tree twisted up the walls. The carving looked light it extended even beyond the chamber itself. Regan stepped closer to it, eyes wide. His eyes traced the delicate details as he followed it down, down, down until . . .

Two figures stood at the base of the twisted tree. Even though both were carved from stone, their features almost looked _real_ , as if at any moment they could come alive.

Regan's breath caught again.

The figure on the left was, undoubtedly, an Alf. His pointed ears and posture were pure Alv, there was no mistaking it. He appeared pensive, maybe even a little sad, as he held out a hand toward his companion. Regan followed the gentle arch of the Alv hand to the second figure, and then took a shuddering breath. A second Alv was facing the first, but this one was smiling sadly, as if saying goodby. There was one major difference between the two, however.

The second Alv was floating, four translucent wings stretched out behind him. In the distance, more winged figures dove and wove through and around the branches of the great tree. Regan stepped back as he let his gaze wander back upwards again, noticing the small details that he hadn't before. His hand knocked against something hard and he startled, spinning around.

From the entrance he hadn't been able to see it, but there was a small podium hidden behind the basin of fire. And on it . . .

A leather bound book, perfectly preserved, rested on cold stone, untouched for hundreds of years.

Shivering in excitement, Regan stepped around the dais and faced the book, reaching forward with trembling fingers to trace over the ancient cover. The entire chamber must have been vacuum sealed, which is why it was so well preserved.

The symbols dancing over the cover were ancient. If Regan hadn't already made it a point to be familiar with the ancient Alven language, he would have never recognized it.

He ran his fingers over the indented words on the cover and felt his heartbeat pick up.

 _Welcome,_ the cover said, _to Alfheim._

" _The land of the Fae"._

 **0~o~0**

 **Okay, that last section turned out** _ **much**_ **longer than I was expecting. Originally, I was just going to have some old dusty book tumble off of the shelf and hit Regan on the head as he was cleaning. This might have run away from me a little bit . . .**

 **What do you think is happening to Shiroe? To Kirito? To** _ **Asuna?**_

 **No idea when I will update next. Probably not for another month or two. Hope that you all like this! Let me know where you think this is going!**

 **And again, I would like to reiterate that I write fanfiction for fun. People are welcome to create spin offs from this if they want to, but please don't copy this word for word. I take precious time out of my busy life to write this, and it hurts when people try and tear me apart for not updating regularly. I am currently focusing on at least four other stories as well, so I don't post regularly. Please don't bug me about it.**

 **If you liked it, please leave a review or comment about what you think. I tried to get Regan's name right, but I misspelled it the first time I wrote this so I went back and rewrote it. It's hard because he has three different spellings . . . Regan, Ri Gan, and Li Gan.**

 **(Updated: 11/29/2019)**


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